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SVa-N/e  s~ 


International  Conciliation 

Published  monthly,  except  July  and  August,  by  the 
Carnegie  Endowment  for  International  Peace 
Entered  as  second-class  matter  September  is,  1924,  at  the  post  office  at 
Worcester,  Massachusetts,  under  the  Act  of  March  3,  1879. 


THE  SLAVERY  CONVENTION  OF  GENEVA 
SEPTEMBER  25,  1926 
By 

A.  L.  Warnshuis,  Joseph  P.  Chamberlain 
and  Quincy  Wright 

TEXT  OF  THE  GENERAL  ACT  FOR  THE  REPRESSION 
OF  AFRICAN  SLAVE  TRADE, 

JULY  2,  1890 


JANUARY,  1928 
No.  236 


CARNEGIE  ENDOWMENT  FOR  INTERNATIONAL  PEACE 
DIVISION  OF  INTERCOURSE  AND  EDUCATION 
PUBLICATION  OFFICE:  44  PORTLAND  STREET,  WORCESTER,  MASS. 
EDITORIAL  OFFICE:  405  WEST  II7TH  STREET,  NEW  YORK  CITY 

Subscription  price:  25  cents  for  one  year,  one  dollar  for  five  years 
Single  copies  5 cents 


CARNEGIE  ENDOWMENT  FOR 
INTERNATIONAL  PEACE 


Trustees 


Robert  S.  Brookings 
Nicholas  Murray  Butler 
John  W.  Davis 
Frederic  A.  Delano 
Lawton  B.  Evans 
Austen  G.  Fox 
Robert  A.  Franks 
Charles  S.  Hamlin 
Howard  Heinz 
David  Jayne  Hill 
Alfred  Holman 
William  M.  Howard 
Robert  Lansing 


Frank  O.  Lowden 
Andrew  J.  Montague 
Dwight  W.  Morrow 
Robert  E.  Olds 
Edwin  B.  Parker 
LeRoy  Percy 
William  A.  Peters 
Henry  S.  Pritchett 
Elihu  Root 
James  Brown  Scott 
James  R.  Sheffield 
Maurice  S.  Sherman 
James  T.  Shotwell 


Silas  H.  Strawn 


Officers 


President,  Nicholas  Murray  Butler 
Vice-President,  Robert  Lansing 
Secretary,  James  Brown  Scott 
Assistant  Secretary,  George  A.  Finch 
Treasurer,  Andrew  J.  Montague 
Assistant  Treasurer,  Frederic  A.  Delano 

Executive  Committee 

Nicholas  Murray  Butler,  Chairman 
James  Brown  Scott,  Secretary 


James  T.  Shotwell 

Division  of  Intercourse  and  Education 
Director,  Nicholas  Murray  Butler 

Division  of  International  Law 
Director,  James  Brown  Scott 

Division  of  Economics  and  History 
Director,  James  T.  Shotwell 


Austen  G.  Fox 
Andrew  J.  Montague 


Henry  S.  Pritchett 
Elihu  Root 


CARNEGIE  ENDOWMENT  FOR 
INTERNATIONAL  PEACE 


DIVISION  OF  INTERCOURSE  AND  EDUCATION 

Director,  Nicholas  Murray  Butler 

Assistant  to  the  Director,  Henry  S.  Haskell 
Division  Assistant,  Amy  Heminway  Jones 

Office,  405  West  117th  Street,  New  York  City 
Telephone,  Cathedral,  4560 — Cable,  Interpax,  New  York 

Special  Correspondents 

Sir  William  J.  Collins,  M.P.,  London,  England 
Jean  Efremoff,  Paris,  France.  (Russia) 

F.  W.  Foerster,  Zurich,  Switzerland.  (Germany) 

Hellmut  von  Gerlach,  Berlin,  Germany 
Edoardo  Giretti,  Bricherasio,  Piedmont,  Italy 
Christian  L.  Lange,  Geneva,  Switzerland 
David  Mitrany,  London,  England.  (Southeastern  Europe) 
Tsunejiro  Miyaoka,  Tokyo.  Japan 


Centre  Europeen 
Comite  d ’Administration 


Paul  Appell,  France,  President 
Moritz  J.  Bonn,  Germany 
Guillaume  Fatio,  Switzerland 
Alfred  G.  Gardiner,  Great 
Britain 

Andr£  Honnorat,  France 
Georges  Lechartier,  France 

Count  Car 


Henry  Lichtenberger,  France 
Gilbert  Murray,  Great  Britain 
Alfred  Nerincx,  Belgium 
Nicolas  S.  Politis,  Greece 
E.  von  Prittwitz  und  Gaffron, 
Germany 

Joseph  Redlich,  Austria 
Sforza,  Italy 


Dir ecteur- Adjoint,  Earle  B.  Babcock 
Secretaire  Generate,  Mlle.  M.  Th.  Peylade 
Auditeur,  Th.  Ruyssen 

Bureau,  173  Boulevard  St.-Germain,  Paris,  France 
Telephone,  Fleurus  53.77 — Adresse  Telcgraphique,  Interpax,  Paris 


Digitized  by  the  Internet  Archive 
in  2016 


https://archive.org/details/slaveryconventioOOwarn 


CONTENTS 


Page 

Preface  5 

The  Slavery  Convention  of  Geneva,  September  25,  1926  7 

EARLIER  TREATIES  7 

THE  TEMPORARY  SLAVERY  COMMISSION 10 

THE  DRAFTING  OF  A PROPOSED  CONVENTION 13 

THE  SLAVERY  CONVENTION 1 4 

APPLICATION  OF  THE  CONVENTION  TO  THE  UNITED  STATES  AND 

THEIR  POSSESSIONS 23 

GENERAL  OBSERVATIONS 26 

Appendix  I.  Study  of  Questions  Relating  to  Native 
Labor  by  the  International  Labor  Organization  28 

FORCED  OR  COMPULSORY  LABOR 29 

General  Prescriptions 30 

Limitations 30 

Regulations  Governing  the  Conditions  of  Forced  Labor  30 

INDENTURED  OR  CONTRACT  LABOR  31 

Recruitment  of  Workers  under  Contract 31 

The  Contract  31 

Protection  of  the  Worker  under  Contract 31 

GENERAL  INDUSTRIAL  CONDITIONS 31 

Appendix  II.  Slavery  and  Peonage  Legislation  in  the 

Philippines 35 

Appendix  III.  Reply  of  the  United  States  Government 
to  the  Invitation  to  Comment  on  the  Draft  Conven- 
tion on  Slavery,  Adopted  by  the  Assembly  of  the 

League  of  Nations  in  September,  1925  37 

Appendix  IV.  Prohibition  of  Slave  Trade  and  Forced 
Labor  in  Countries  Holding  the  Mandates  under 

the  League  of  Nations 37 

Appendix  V.  Text  of  the  General  Act  for  the  Repression 
of  African  Slave  Trade,  July  2,  1890 38 


3 


PREFACE 

The  following  document  upon  the  Slavery  Convention  of  Geneva, 
September  1926,  has  been  prepared  especially  for  International 
Conciliation  readers  in  the  hope  that  it  may  throw  light  upon  the 
discussion  in  the  Senate  which  will  probably  take  place  during  the 
present  session  as  to  the  accession  of  the  United  States  to  the  Con- 
vention. There  are  now  forty  states  that  have  signed  or  acceded 
to  this  convention  twelve  of  which  have  already  ratified  it.1 

The  international  effort  to  abolish  the  slave  trade,  first  by  sea, 
then  by  land,  is  a striking  case  of  the  interdependence  of  the  na- 
tions in  combating  a social  evil.  This  international  evil  could  not 
be  dealt  with  by  the  action  of  individual  states;  joint  action  of  the 
Powers  on  the  high  seas  and  reciprocal  agreements  had  to  be  ne- 
gotiated to  bring  the  more  backward  into  line,  and  to  enforce  the 
policing  of  the  seas  against  the  traffickers  in  human  flesh.  As  the 
Nineteenth  Century  progressed  the  states  became  more  conscious 
of  their  interdependence,  more  willing  to  recognize  their  obligations 
to  international  society,  and  more  accustomed  to  work  as  a unit  so 
that  at  Brussels  in  1890,  all  the  great  Powers  and  the  small  Powers 
affected  united  in  a common  agreement  to  prevent  the  trade  by  land 
and  by  sea. 

The  Brussels  Convention  does  not  go  far  enough  to  satisfy  the 
present  international  conscience.  This  developing  sense  of  justice 
is  voiced  in  the  Slavery  Convention  of  1926,  which  forbids  the  slave 
trade  and  the  institution  of  slavery  and  forbids  the  new  evil,  forced 
labor  for  private  purposes.  The  sense  of  justice  of  the  American 
people  expressed  itself  two  generations  ago  in  the  Thirteenth  Amend- 
ment, abolishing  slavery  and  involuntary  servitude.  The  Convention 
of  1926  internationalizes  a principle  already  accepted  by  this  country. 

The  United  States  is  asked  to  join  the  other  nations  of  the  world 
in  this  effort  to  destroy  utterly  an  ancient  evil  and  to  prevent  any 
present-day  substitute.  It  cannot  refuse  to  do  its  share  in  this  final 
effort. 

Nicholas  Murray  Butler 

New  York,  December  19,  1927. 

1 See  p.  6. 


[5] 


4 


STATES  THAT 

SIGNED  THE  CONVENTION 

BY  APRIL  I,  1927 

Abyssinia 

Esthonia 

New  Zealand 

Albania 

Finland 

Norway 

Australia 

France 

Panama 

Austria 

Germany 

Persia 

Belgium 

Greece 

Poland 

British  Empire 

India 

Portugal 

Bulgaria 

Italy 

Roumania 

Canada 

Kingdom  of  the  Serbs, 

Spain 

China 

Croats  and  Slovenes 

Sweden 

Colombia 

Latvia 

Union  of  South 

Cuba 

Liberia 

Africa 

Czechoslovakia 

Lithuania 

Uruquay 

Denmark 

Netherlands 

Total  36 

STATES  THAT  HAVE  ACCEDED  TO  THE  CONVENTION 

Haiti 

Nicaragua 

Hungary 

The  Sudan 

Total  4 

STATES 

THAT  HAVE  RATIFIED  THE 

CONVENTION 

Australia 

Denmark 

Norway 

Austria 

India 

Portugal 

British  Empire 

Latvia 

Spain 

Bulgaria 

New  Zealand 

Union  of  South 
Africa 

Total  12 

(Belgium,  France,  Germany,  Italy,  and  the  Netherlands  have 
signified  their  expectation  of  ratification.  See  Report  of  the  Sixth 
Committee  to  the  Assembly,  A.  74, 1927, VI.) 


[6] 


5 


THE  SLAVERY  CONVENTION  OF  GENEVA 
SEPTEMBER  25,  1926 

By 

A.  L.  Warnshuis,  Secretary  of  the  International  Missionary  Council 

and  Joseph  P.  Chamberlain  of  Columbia  University,  with  the 
collaboration  of  Quincy  Wright  of  the  University  of  Chicago 

Four  centuries  ago  Europe  began  a career  of  conquest,  develop- 
ment and  trade  in  the  new  world  of  America.  For  the  crime  of  bring- 
ing across  the  Atlantic  millions  of  black  slaves,  the  world  has  not  yet 
ceased  to  pay.  Great  as  that  cost  has  already  become,  clearly  recog- 
nized by  the  civilized  Powers  as  a crime  against  humanity  to  be 
prevented  by  concerted  action,  slavery  still  persists  in  some  places 
and  more  effective  measures  are  required  for  its  complete  abolition. 

Apart  from  slavery,  properly  so-called,  and  the  slave  trade,  the 
happiness  and  freedom  of  the  people  and  the  ideals  of  good  govern- 
ment are  now  threatened  in  a new  way.  Today  another  continent, 
Africa,  is  being  opened  and  the  labor  of  its  native  peoples  is  being 
unjustly  exploited  in  many  places.  The  type  of  the  victim  of  the 
greed  of  plantation  and  mine  owners  is  not  the  slave  of  the  planta- 
tion in  America  and  the  West  Indies;  he  is  a person  whose  status  is 
given  a different  name.  The  issue  now  is  whether  the  native  peoples 
be  forced  to  work  as  the  European  wills,  whatever  the  form  in  which 
such  compulsion  is  disguised,  or  whether  they  be  encouraged  and 
helped  to  better  themselves  by  the  development  of  production  with- 
out loss  of  freedom,  and  if  they  prefer  wage  labor,  to  ensure  to  them 
the  right  to  sell  their  labor  in  the  best  market,  under  humane  con- 
ditions, so  that  they  may  benefit,  and  not  deteriorate  under  the 
guidance  of  their  white  employers.  Said  Judge  Hughes  writing 
the  opinion  of  the  Supreme  Court  of  the  United  States  in  Bailey  v. 
Alabama,  219  U.  S.  219,  245:  “There  is  no  more  important  concern 
than  to  safeguard  the  freedom  of  labor  upon  which  alone  can  en- 
during prosperity  be  based.” 

Earlier  Treaties 

Slavery  became  a matter  of  international  concern  by  the  condem- 
nation of  the  slave  trade  in  the  Treaty  of  Vienna  of  1 8 1 5.1  That  dec- 

1 Hertslet,  A Map  of  Europe  by  Treaty,  vol.  I,  p.  60.  Similar  declaration  at  the„Con- 
gress  of  Verona,  28  Nov.,  1922,  id.,  p.  695. 

[7] 


6 


laration  of  principle  was  followed  by  a series  of  conventions  chiefly 
between  Great  Britain  and  individual  governments  which  agreed 
mutually  to  put  down  the  slave  trade  by  sea.  If  the  slave  trade  was 
to  be  effectively  put  down  agreements  between  the  Powers  were 
necessary.  The  open  sea  is  free  for  the  passage  of  vessels  of  every 
nation  and  they  cannot  in  times  of  peace  be  stopped  by  cruisers  of 
another  nation  except  by  express  agreement.  Therefore,  if  one  or 
two  countries,  like  Great  Britain  and  the  United  States,  prohibited 
their  subjects  or  ships  flying  their  flags  from  engaging  in  the  slave 
trade,  the  result  would  simply  be  to  shift  the  trade  to  the  ships  and 
people  of  less  scrupulous  nations  unless  an  international  agreement 
completed  the  action  of  the  individual  governments.  The  United 
States  recognized  its  international  duty  by  Article  io  of  the  Treaty 
of  Ghent  restoring  peace  between  the  United  States  and  Great 
Britain  after  the  war  of  1812,  in  which  it  was  declared  by  both  parties 
that  the  slave  trade  was  “irreconcilable  with  the  principles  of  hu- 
manity and  justice,”  and  therefore,  the  two  governments  agreed 
to  use  their  best  endeavors  to  promote  its  entire  abolition.2 

Notable  is  the  treaty  of  1841  between  Great  Britain,  Prussia, 
Russia,  and  Austria,  which  bound  the  contracting  Powers  to  prevent 
their  subjects  engaging  in  the  trade,  either  as  individuals,  with  their 
ships  or  their  capital.  Any  ship  which  was  engaged  in  the  trade  lost 
all  right  to  the  protection  of  her  flag.  Cruisers  of  one  of  the  powers 
could  search  and  bring  in  merchant  ships  of  another  for  condemnation 
in  the  courts  of  the  captor.  Officers  and  men  could  be  punished  as 
pirates  by  the  same  courts.3 

The  United  States  and  Great  Britain,  in  the  Webster-Ashburton 
Treaty  of  1842,  agreed  to  cooperate  by  each  government  keeping  a 
squadron  off  the  coast  of  Africa  to  carry  out  its  laws  against  slave 
ships  flying  its  flag,4  and  in  1862  went  a step  further  in  allowing  the 
cruisers  of  either  country  to  search  the  merchant  ships  of  the  other. 
Mixed  courts  were  established  at  which  slavers  could  be  condemned.6 
The  mixed  courts  were  abolished  by  the  Convention  of  June  3,  1870, 
which  obliged  the  cruisers  to  bring  suspected  slavers  in  for 
condemnation  to  the  courts  of  the  country  of  the  suspected 
vessel. 

! Moore,  International  Law  Digest,  vol.  u,  p.  918. 

* Nouveau  Recueil  General  des  Traites,  vol.  2,  p.  s°8. 

4 Treaties  between  the  United  States  and  Foreign  Countries,  1776-1887,  p.  436. 

6 Treaties  and  Conventions  between  the  United  States  and  Foreign  Powers,  1776-1887, 
p.  472;  also  Malloy,  1,  p.  693. 


[8] 


7 


The  trade  was  made  a crime  punishable  as  piracy,  by  the  legisla- 
tion of  the  different  countries.  The  Constitution  of  the  United  States 
prevented  Congress  prohibiting  the  slave  trade  into  the  United 
States  until  1808, 6 but  as  early  as  1794  an  Act  was  passed  forbidding 
American  citizens  or  vessels  from  carrying  slaves  from  the  United 
States  to  foreign  countries  or  from  one  foreign  country  to  another.7 
As  early  as  the  Constitution  permitted  this  Act  was  extended  by  a 
statute  of  1807,  to  make  criminal  bringing  slaves  into  the  United 
States,8  so  that  after  1808  no  American  vessel  and  no  American 
citizen  could  lawfully  engage  in  the  slave  trade.  Although  slavery 
was  still  continued  by  state  law,  the  Act  of  1807  set  forth  a principle 
that  later  appears  in  the  Convention  of  Brussels  of  1890  as  an  im- 
portant means  of  discouraging  bootlegging  of  slaves  in  violation  of 
the  law.  “No  person  of  color”  imported  into  the  United  States 
after  January  1,  1808  could  be  held  by  his  master  as  a slave  and  must, 
at  his  request,  be  set  free  by  the  proper  authorities.  Congress  went 
a long  step  further  in  18209  when  it  declared  slave  traders  pirates  in 
an  act  which  still  stands  on  the  statute  books,  and  in  1823  by  a vote 
of  131  to  9,  the  House  of  Representatives  requested  the  President 
to  open  negotiations  to  have  slave  trading  assimilated  to  piracy. 
“Instructions  in  conformity  with  this  resolution  were  given  to  the 
diplomatic  representatives  of  the  United  States;  and  on  March  13, 
1824,  a convention  was  signed  at  London  which  conceded  a reciprocal 
right  of  search  on  the  coasts  of  Africa,  America,  and  the  West  Indies. 
The  Senate  of  the  United  States,  however,  on  May  21,  1824,  by  a 
vote  of  36  to  2,  struck  out  the  word  ‘America,’  and,  the  British 
government  declining  to  accept  the  amendment,  the  treaty  failed.”10 

It  is  noteworthy  that  international  action  was  begun  against  the 
slave  trade  by  sea  but  no  engagement  was  taken  by  any  government 
to  abolish  the  institution  of  slavery  or  slave  trading  in  its  own 
territory. 

A first  step  in  this  direction  was  taken  by  the  General  Act  of  Berlin, 
1885,  Article  9,  which  bound  the  signatory  powers  to  suppress  the  slave 
trade  by  land  and  slavery  itself  within  their  territory  in  the  Congo 
Basin.  By  1890,  the  trade  by  sea  over  the  Atlantic  had  almost  dis- 
appeared so  that  in  the  Treaty  of  Brussels  of  that  year  measures 

6 Art.  1,  section  9. 

7 Statutes  at  Large  1,  p.  347  with  note,  amendedi  n 1800;  Statutes  at  Large  11,  p.  70. 

9 Statutes  at  Large,  11,  p.  426. 

9 Criminal  Code,  section  246,  Code  of  Laws  of  U . S.,  Title  18.  section  421. 

10  Moore’s  Principles  of  American  Diplomacy,  p.  117. 

[9] 


8 


against  the  slave  trade  by  sea  were  limited  to  a zone  on  the  east  coast 
of  Africa  whence  native  boats  still  carried  human  freight  to  Arabia 
and  the  Persian  Gulf.  In  this  treaty  the  provisions  of  the  General 
Act  of  Berlin  against  the  slave  trade  by  land  in  Africa  were  made 
definite,  the  powers  holding  colonies  in  Africa  agreed  to  stop  slave 
trading  within  their  territories  and  to  cooperate  with  their  neigh- 
bors in  making  easy  the  pursuit  of  slavers.  Turkey  and  Persia  joined 
the  European  powers  and  agreed  that  slaves  carried  to  their  ports 
should  be  freed.  The  United  States  is  a party  to  the  Convention  of 
Brussels  which  is  still  in  force.11 

With  the  increasing  settlement  and  colonization  of  Africa,  slave 
raiding  and  slave  trading  have  assumed  a minor  importance,  and  at 
last  by  1919  the  international  conscience  was  aroused  to  attempt 
action  against  the  institution  of  slavery  itself.  It  took  one  hundred 
and  four  years  from  1815,  when  the  slave  trade  was  internationally 
condemned,  to  bring  the  nations  to  draft  a treaty  condemning  the 
institution  of  slavery.  In  the  Treaty  of  St.  Germain,  September 
1919,  which  the  United  States  signed  but  which  has  not  yet  been 
presented  to  the  Senate  for  ratification,  it  was  agreed  in  Article  11, 
that  each  Power  “will  endeavor  to  secure  the  complete  suppression 
of  slavery  in  all  its  forms  and  of  the  slave  trade  by  land  and  sea.  ”12 
This  article  came  very  close  to  an  international  adoption  of  the 
principle  of  the  Thirteenth  Amendment  to  the  Constitution  of  the 
United  States.  That  Treaty  has  been  ratified  by  only  five  Powers, 
and  cannot  be  considered  a satisfactory  settlement,  for  the  investi- 
gations of  recent  years  have  revealed  other  forms  of  involuntary 
servitude  equally  as  obnoxious  as  slavery  to  modern  civilization  and 
that  call  urgently  for  more  effective  agreements  for  their  abolition. 

The  Temporary  Slavery  Commission 

The  question  of  slavery  was  raised  in  the  Third  Assembly  of  the 
League  of  Nations  (1922)  with  special  reference  to  Abyssinia.  A 
recommendation  was  adopted  by  that  Assembly  that  a report  on 
the  question  of  slavery  should  be  presented  to  the  Fourth  Assembly. 
Information  on  the  subject  was  subsequently  secured  from  various 
governments,  and  communicated  to  the  Members  of  the  League  in 
the  document,  A.  18,  1923,  VI. 

11  Treaty  of  Brussels,  July  21.  1890,  Malloy.  Treaties  and  Conventions  of  the  United 
States,  vol.  11.  p.  1964. 

1!  Treaty  of  St.  Germain,  Sept.  10,  1919.  Treaties  between  the  United  States  and  other 
Powers,  vol.  in.  p.  3739. 

[10] 


9 


Thereupon,  by  resolutions  of  the  Council  of  the  League,  taken  on 
March  14,  and  June  12,  1924,  a temporary  commission  of  authorities 
in  this  field  was  constituted.  This  body,  known  as  the  Temporary 
Slavery  Commission,  met  at  Geneva,  July  9,  12,  1924  (see  Minutes 
A.  18,  1924,  VI).  The  instructions  given  to  it  by  the  Council  in 
the  resolution  of  March  14,  1924,  were  “to  continue  temporarily 
the  enquiry  on  slavery  and  to  communicate  to  the  Council  their 
conclusions  on  this  subject.”  It  developed  that  the  members  of 
the  Commission  were  all  somewhat  uncertain  as  to  the  exact  nature 
and  limits  of  their  task.  The  Commission  accordingly  concluded 
that  its  first  business  should  be  to  submit  to  the  Council  a summary 
of  the  various  aspects  of  the  question  which  might  be  included  in  the 
phrase  “slavery  in  all  its  forms,”  used  in  the  Convention  of  St.  Ger- 
main. In  its  report  to  the  Council,  A.  17,  1924,  VI,  it  submitted  the 
following  syllabus  of  the  matters  to  be  considered  by  the  Commission : 

1.  (a)  Enslaving  of  persons;  slave  raiding  and  the  slave  trade; 

(b)  Slave  dealing  (including  transfer  by  exchange,  sale, 
gift  or  inheritance); 

(c)  Slavery  or  serfdom  (domestic  or  predial). 

2.  Practices  restrictive  of  the  liberty  of  the  person,  or  tending 
to  acquire  control  of  the  person  in  conditions  analogous 
to  slavery,  as  for  example: 

(a)  Acquisition  of  girls  by  purchase  disguised  as  payment 
of  dowry,  it  being  understood  that  this  does  not  refer  to 
normal  marriage  customs; 

(b)  Adoption  of  children,  of  either  sex,  with  a view  to  their 
virtual  enslavement  or  the  ultimate  disposal  of  their 
persons; 

(c)  All  forms  of  pledging  or  reducing  to  servitude  of  persons 
for  debt  or  other  reason. 

3.  Measures  taken  to  check  practices  under  1 and  2 and  results 
obtained. 

4.  System  of  compulsory  labor,  public,  or  private,  paid  or 
unpaid. 

5.  Measures  taken  or  contemplated  to  facilitate  the  transi- 
tion from  service  or  compulsory  labor  to  free  wage  labor 
or  independent  production. 

With  reference  to  the  important  task  of  collecting  as  much  reliable 
and  practical  information  as  possible  on  the  subjects  included  in  the 
syllabus,  the  Commission  proposed  in  the  same  report  to  obtain  its 
information  from  official  reports  and  statements  furnished  by  the 

[n] 


10 


governments  and  also  from  individuals  or  organizations  whose 
competence  and  reliability  were  duly  established.  This  program 
and  these  methods  of  work  were  approved  by  the  Assembly  in 
1924. 

A memorandum  by  the  Secretary-General,  A.  25,  1924,  VI,  con- 
tains replies  made  by  various  governments  to  the  inquiries  made 
in  accordance  to  instructions  of  the  Council  of  the  League.  These 
replies  supplement  those  contained  in  the  earlier  report,  A.  18,  1923, 
VI.  In  this  memorandum  the  United  States  is  included  in  the  list  of 
governments  who  replied  that  “they  have  no  useful  information  to 
communicate,  or  that  slavery  does  not  exist  in  the  territories  under 
their  sovereignty.”  These  two  documents  contain  the  official  state- 
ments of  the  governments  regarding  the  question  of  slavery  in  their 
territories,  which  were  considered  by  the  Temporary  Slavery  Com- 
mission. They  were  for  the  most  part  of  very  little  use,  and  no  re- 
plies were  received  from  those  Moslem  States  regarding  which  in- 
formation was  most  desired,  e.  g.,  Turkey,  Afghanistan,  Persia, 
Egypt,  and  the  Hedjaz.  A memorandum  on  Abyssinia  was  sub- 
mitted by  the  French  Government. 

The  Commission  met  in  Geneva  for  its  Second  Session  from  July 
13  to  25,  1925.  The  meeting  of  the  Commission  followed  immediately 
on  that  of  the  Mandates  Commission  of  the  League  of  Nations,  on 
which  three  of  its  members  had  been  engaged.  It  sat  continuously 
till  July  25,  when  it  had  to  close  in  order  that  its  report  might 
be  printed  in  time  for  the  Council  in  September.  It  did  not  have 
time  to  deal  fully  with  the  memorials  from  non-government 
sources. 

Its  final  report,  A.  19,  1925,  VI,  deals  seriatim  with  the  subjects 
which  appear  in  the  program  set  up  in  the  Commission’s  earlier  re- 
port. The  scope  and  urgency  of  the  problem  are  clearly  described  in 
the  report,  which  shows  conclusively  that  there  are  very  many  evils 
in  connection  with  Slavery,  the  Slave  Trade,  and  Forced  Labor  in 
existence  at  the  present  time  which  require  international  agreement. 
For  example,  it  is  shown  that  there  are  no  fewer  than  nineteen 
areas  in  Europe,  Asia,  and  Africa  in  which  slave  raiding,  slave  trading, 
and  slave  markets  still  exist.  It  appears  also  that  the  more  insidious 
forms  of  slavery,  such  as  so-called  adoption,  debt-slavery,  and  con- 
cubinage as  well  as  forced  labor  are  unfortunately  prevalent  in  a 
very  large  part  of  the  world  and  to  a very  great  extent. 

[12] 


II 


The  Drafting  of  a Proposed  Convention 

The  Temporary  Slavery  Commission,  on  the  recommendation  of 
a majority  of  its  members,  proposed  that  a new  international  con- 
vention on  slavery  should  be  concluded,  to  which  all  states,  whether 
members  of  the  League  or  not,  should  be  invited  to  subscribe,  setting 
forth  the  minimum  standard  that  a majority  of  governments  would 
accept  and  apply.  It  was  suggested  that  this  new  Convention  might 
deal  not  only  with  slavery  but  also  with  systems  of  forced  labor 
analogous  to  slavery. 

The  Commission’s  report  was  considered  by  the  Council  and  the 
Assembly  of  the  League  of  Nations  in  September  1925,  when  a resolu- 
tion was  passed  adopting  a Draft  Convention.  This  Convention 
was  forwarded  to  all  States,  Members  of  the  League,  and  also  to  the 
United  States  of  America  and  other  governments,  with  the  invita- 
tion to  each  to  forward  to  the  Secretary-General  not  later  than  June 
1,  1926,  any  observations  they  might  desire  to  make  regarding  the 
provisions  of  this  Draft  Convention.  These  observations  (A10  and 
A10  (b)  1926,  VI)  including  a brief  statement  from  the  United  States 
Government  that  it  did  not  choose  to  make  any  observation,  (see 
Appendix  III)  were  considered  by  the  Council  of  the  League  in  July 
1926,  which  then  referred  the  Draft  Convention,  with  such  obser- 
vations as  had  been  received,  to  the  Assembly. 

In  its  session  of  September  1926,  the  Assembly  approved  a re- 
vised form  of  the  Convention,  which  was  signed  on  September  25, 
1926,  by  the  delegates  of  twenty-five  States,  the  delegates  of  the 
British  Empire,  India,  and  Persia  signed  with  certain  reservations, 
the  Assembly  at  the  same  time  adopted  three  other  resolutions  re- 
lating to  slavery  and  forced  labor,  to  which  reference  will  also  be 
made  in  the  following  pages. 

By  the  terms  of  article  XI  of  the  Convention,  it  remained  open  for 
signature  by  the  States,  Members  of  the  League  of  Nations,  until 
April,  1927,  and  on  that  date  eleven  more  States  had  added  their 
signatures,  making  a total  of  thirty-six  signatures.  Subsequent  to 
that  date,  and  in  accordance  with  the  terms  of  the  same  article,  the 
Secretary-General  of  the  League  brought  the  Convention  to  the  no- 
tice of  the  States  that  had  not  signed  it,  including  States  which  are 
not  Members  of  the  League  of  Nations,  and  invited  them  to  accede 
thereto.  In  September,  1927,  it  was  announced  that  the  governments 


[13] 


12 


of  Haiti,  Hungary,  and  the  Sudan  had  acceded  to  the  Convention, 
that  twelve  other  governments  had  ratified  it,  and  that  Belgium, 
France,  Germany,  Italy,  and  the  Netherlands  hoped  to  ratify  the 
Convention  in  the  near  future.  In  a communication,  dated  Geneva, 
May  19,  1927,  the  text  of  this  Slavery  Convention  was  sent  officially 
by  the  Secretary-General  to  the  Government  of  the  United  States  of 
America,  who  also  offered  the  services  of  the  Secretariat  in  connection 
with  the  necessary  formalities  of  the  deposit  of  its  act  of  accession  in 
case  that  Government  decided  to  take  that  step. 

The  Slavery  Convention 

The  text  of  the  Slavery  Convention,  Geneva,  September  25,  1926, 
with  the  names  of  the  delegates  of  the  Signatory  States  as  on  April 
1,  1927,  has  been  published  in  a document  of  the  League  of  Nations.13 
Its  text  is  quoted  in  the  following  paragraphs. 

Preamble 

Albania,  Germany,  Austria,  Belgium,  the  British  Empire, 
Canada,  the  Commonwealth  of  Australia,  the  Union  of  South 
Africa,  the  Dominion  of  New  Zealand,  and  India,  Bulgaria, 
China,  Colombia,  Cuba,  Denmark,  Spain,  Esthonia,  Abyssinia, 
Finland,  France,  Greece,  Italy,  Latvia,  Liberia,  Lithuania,  Nor- 
way, Panama,  the  Netherlands,  Persia,  Poland,  Portugal,  Rou- 
mania,  the  Kingdom  of  the  Serbs,  Croats  and  Slovenes,  Sweden, 
Czecho-Slovakia,  and  Uruguay. 

Whereas  the  signatories  of  the  Convention  of  Saint-Ger- 
main-en-Laye  of  1919  to  revise  the  General  Act  of  Berlin  of 
1885  and  the  General  Act  and  Declaration  of  Brussels  of 
1890  affirmed  their  intention  of  securing  the  complete  suppres- 
sion of  slavery  in  all  its  forms  and  of  the  slave  trade  by  land 
and  sea; 

Taking  into  consideration  the  report  of  the  Temporary  Slav- 
ery Commission  appointed  by  the  Council  of  the  League  of 
Nations  on  June  12,  1924; 

Desiring  to  complete  and  extend  the  work  accomplished 
under  the  Brussels  Act  and  to  find  a means  of  giving  practical 
effect  throughout  the  world  to  such  intentions  as  were  ex- 
pressed in  regard  to  slave  trade  and  slavery  by  the  signatories 
of  the  Convention  of  Saint-Germain-en-Laye,  and  recognizing 
that  it  is  necessary  to  conclude  to  that  end  more  detailed 
arrangements  than  are  contained  in  that  Convention; 

Considering  moreover,  that  it  is  necessary  to  prevent  forced 

1*  C.  210.  M.  83.  1927.  VI.,  also  in  Great  Britain,  Treaty  Series,  No.  16,  1927. 

[14  3 


13 


labor  from  developing  into  conditions  analogous  to  slavery; 

Have  decided  to  conclude  a Convention  and  have  accord- 
ingly appointed  as  their  Plenipotentiaries: 

(Here  follow  their  names) 

Who,  having  communicated  their  full  powers,  have  agreed 
as  follows: — 

Article  I 

For  the  purpose  of  the  present  Convention,  the  following 
definitions  are  agreed  upon: 

(1)  Slavery  is  the  status  or  condition  of  a person  over  whom 
any  or  all  of  the  powers  attaching  to  the  right  of  ownership 
are  exercised. 

(2)  The  slave  trade  includes  all  acts  involved  in  the  cap- 
ture, acquisition,  or  disposal  of  a person  with  intent  to  reduce 
him  to  slavery;  all  acts  involved  in  the  acquisition  of  a slave 
with  a view  to  selling  or  exchanging  him;  all  acts  of  disposal 
by  sale  or  exchange  of  a slave  acquired  with  a view  to  being 
sold  or  exchanged,  and,  in  general,  every  act  of  trade  or  trans- 
port in  slaves. 

In  considering  the  definition  of  slavery,  it  will  be  important  to  note 
the  following  statement  made  in  the  report  to  the  Assembly  (A.  104, 
1926,  VI).  In  his  commentary  on  Article  2 of  this  Convention,  the 
rapporteur  said  that  reference  to  domestic  slavery  and  similar  condi- 
tions was  omitted  “because  it  was  believed  that  such  conditions 
came  within  the  definition  of  slavery  contained  in  the  first  article 
and  that  no  further  prohibition  of  them  in  express  terms  was  neces- 
sary. This  applies  not  only  to  domestic  slavery  but  to  all  those 
conditions  mentioned  by  the  Temporary  Slavery  Commission,  and 
to  which  I referred  last  year,  i.  e.,  ‘debt  slavery,’  the  enslaving  of 
persons  disguised  as  payment  of  dowry,  etc.  Even  if  these  last  prac- 
tices do  not  come  under  the  definition  of  slavery  as  it  is  given  in  Ar- 
ticle 1,  the  Commission  is  unanimously  of  the  opinion  that  they 
must  be  combated.  In  a more  general  way,  it  interprets  Article  2 
as  tending  to  bring  about  the  disappearance  from  written  legislation 
or  from  the  customs  of  the  country  of  everything  which  admits  the 
maintenance  by  a private  individual  of  rights  over  another  person 
of  the  same  nature  as  the  rights  which  an  individual  can  have  over 
things.  ” 

Article  2 

The  high  contracting  parties  undertake,  each  in  respect 
of  the  territories  placed  under  its  sovereignty,  jurisdiction, 

[15] 


14 


protection,  suzerainty  or  tutelage,  so  far  as  they  have  not 
already  taken  the  necessary  steps: 

(a)  To  prevent  and  suppress  the  slave  trade. 

(b)  To  bring  about,  progressively  and  as  soon  as  possible, 
the  complete  abolition  of  slavery  in  all  its  forms. 

The  proposal  to  abolish  slavery  “progressively”  is  an  expression 
of  the  opinion  that  the  abolition  of  slavery  can  be  successfully  brought 
about  only  with  due  regard  to  the  maintenance  of  order  and  the 
well-being  of  the  peoples  concerned. 

Various  suggestions  have  been  made  for  the  purpose  of  alleviating 
the  hardships  which  might  result  in  the  transition  period,  partic- 
ularly those  of  the  individuals  whose  condition  it  is  sought  to 
benefit.  Admirable  as  these  suggestions  are,  it  was  found  difficult 
to  include  them  in  the  Convention.  They  will  require  considerable 
safeguards  against  abuse  and  belong  rather  to  the  sphere  of  na- 
tional than  international  action. 

Article  3 

The  High  Contracting  Parties  undertake  to  adopt  all  ap- 
propriate measures  with  a view  to  preventing  and  suppressing 
the  embarkation,  disembarkation  and  transport  of  slaves  in 
their  territorial  waters  and  upon  all  vessels  flying  their  re- 
spective flags. 

The  High  Contracting  Parties  undertake  to  negotiate  as 
soon  as  possible  a general  convention  with  regard  to  the  slave 
trade  which  will  give  them  rights  and  impose  upon  them  duties 
of  the  same  nature  as  those  provided  for  in  the  Convention 
of  the  17th  June,  1925,  relative  to  the  International  Trade 
in  Arms  (Articles  12,  20,  21,  22,  23,  24,  and  paragraphs  3,  4 
and  5 of  Section  11  of  Annex  11),  with  the  necessary  adapta- 
tions, it  being  understood  that  this  general  convention  will 
not  place  the  ships  (even  of  small  tonnage)  of  any  High  Con- 
tracting Parties  in  a position  different  from  that  of  the  other 
High  Contracting  Parties. 

It  is  also  understood  that,  before  or  after  the  coming  into 
force  of  this  general  convention,  the  High  Contracting  Parties 
are  entirely  free  to  conclude  between  themselves,  without, 
however,  derogating  from  the  principles  laid  down  in  the 
preceding  paragraph,  such  special  agreements  as,  by  reason 
of  their  peculiar  situation,  might  appear  to  be  suitable  in  order 
to  bring  about  as  soon  as  possible  the  complete  disappearance 
of  the  slave  trade. 

The  “transport  of  slaves”  must  include  transport  of  any  persons 
with  a view  to  their  becoming  slaves. 

[16] 


15 


This  clause,  so  far  as  it  relates  to  the  sea,  raises  the  question  of 
Right  of  Search,  condemnation  of  vessels,  etc.  These  matters  are 
dealt  with  in  the  Brussels  Act,  and  it  is  important  to  observe  that 
such  clauses  of  the  Brussels  Act  as  are  not  obsolete  are  still  binding 
upon  the  Signatories  of  that  Act. 

It  was  proposed  by  some  that  the  transport  of  slaves  by  sea  should 
be  treated  in  this  Convention  as  piracy.  Serious  difficulties  arose  as 
regards  the  application  in  law  of  that  proposal,  and  it  was  finally 
decided  only  to  refer  to  certain  provisions  in  the  Arms  Traffic  Con- 
vention, giving  greater  elasticity  as  to  the  final  arrangements  to  be 
made,  and  providing  for  the  absolute  equality  of  the  Signatory  States. 

Attention  may  well  be  drawn  to  the  third  paragraph  of  Article  3, 
which  provides  for  the  conclusion  of  special  agreements  between  the 
Signatory  Powers.  These  agreements  enable  the  parties  concerned 
to  make  arrangements  of  greater  stringency  and  stipulations  better 
suited  to  local  conditions  than  are  possible  in  a general  international 
convention.  The  slave  trade  probably  does  not  now  exist  on  the 
high  seas,  except  the  Red  Sea  and  the  Indian  Ocean,  but  it  is  con- 
ceivable, e.  g.,  from  Mediterranean  ports.  It  is  to  be  hoped  that 
no  technical  or  legal  difficulties  may  be  permitted  to  delay  the  speedy 
conclusion  of  practical  agreements  between  the  Powers  having  juris- 
diction over  the  territorial  waters  where  the  slave  trade  still  exists. 

Article  4 

The  High  Contracting  Parties  shall  give  to  one  another 
every  assistance  with  the  object  of  securing  the  abolition  of 
slavery  and  the  slave  trade. 

It  has  been  pointed  out  that  mutual  assistance  might  be  given  in 
particular  by  arrangements  for  the  right  of  pursuit  across  inland 
frontiers,  a point  treated  in  the  Report  of  the  Temporary  Slavery 
Commission.  Again,  the  hope  may  be  expressed  that  such  arrange- 
ments will  be  concluded  by  the  States  concerned,  particularly  those 
situated  in  or  having  possessions  in  Africa,  Arabia,  or  Asia. 

The  right  of  asylum  (droit  d’asile)  is  very  important.  By  the 
Ottoman  Constitution  of  1908  the  status  of  slavery  ceased  to  exist 
in  countries  subject  to  Turkey,  and  by  virtue  of  Article  71  of  the 
Brussels  Act,  to  which  Turkey  is  a signatory — the  diplomatic  and 
consular  agents  of  Great  Britain  and  France  at  Jeddah  and  else- 
where granted  asylum  to  fugitive  slaves,  and  applied  to  the  local 

C 17  ] 


i6 


authorities  to  see  that  they  were  duly  liberated.  As  many  as  thirty 
to  forty  a month  were  thus  freed.  After  the  war,  in  the  territories 
liberated  from  Turkish  rule  the  consular  agents  have  not  been 
permitted  to  exercise  this  right  even  in  the  case  of  the  enslavement  or 
detention  in  slavery  of  persons  who  were  subjects  or  protected  by 
some  of  the  European  Powers.  By  a treaty  signed  at  Jeddah  on 
May  20,  1927,  between  Great  Britain  and  the  King  of  the  Hedjaz 
and  of  Nejd,  the  King  undertakes  to  cooperate  by  all  means  at  his 
disposal  with  the  British  Government  in  the  suppression  of  the 
slave  trade,  and  at  the  same  time  the  British  Government  maintained 
the  right  of  manumitting  slaves,  which  enables  a British  consul  to 
liberate  any  slave  who  presents  himself  of  his  own  free  choice  with  a 
request  for  liberation  and  repatriation  to  his  country  of  origin.14 
It  will  be  desirable  foi^  the  States  to  assist  one  another  to  secure  the 
abolition  of  slavery  by  instructing  their  respective  consular  officers 
to  collaborate  closely  with  a view  to  liberating  and  repatriating 
slaves  when  and  wherever  possible. 

Article  5 

The  High  Contracting  Parties  recognize  that  recourse  to 
compulsory  or  forced  labour  may  have  grave  consequences  and 
undertake,  each  in  respect  of  the  territories  placed  under  its 
sovereignty,  jurisdiction,  protection,  suzerainty  or  tutelage, 
to  take  all  necessary  measures  to  prevent  compulsory  or  forced 
labour  from  developing  into  conditions  analogous  to  slavery. 

It  is  agreed  that: 

(1)  Subject  to  the  transitional  provisions  laid  down  in 
paragraph  (2)  below,  compulsory  or  forced  labour  may  only 
be  exacted  for  public  purposes. 

(2)  In  territories  in  which  compulsory  or  forced  labour  for 
other  than  public  purposes  still  survives,  the  High  Contract- 
ing Parties  shall  endeavour  progressively  and  as  soon  as  pos- 
sible to  put  an  end  to  the  practice.  So  long  as  such  forced 
or  compulsory  labour  exists,  this  labour  shall  invariably  be 
of  an  exceptional  character,  shall  always  receive  adequate 
remuneration,  and  shall  not  involve  the  removal  of  the  labourers 
from  their  usual  place  of  residence. 

(3)  In  all  cases,  the  responsibility  for  any  recourse  to  com- 
pulsory or  forced  labour  shall  rest  with  the  competent  central 
authorities  of  the  territory  concerned. 

This  article  is  much  stronger  than  that  contained  on  the  subject 
of  forced  labor  in  the  Draft  Convention.  The  commentary  on  this 

i<  Great  Britain  Treaty  Series,  No.  25,  1927. 

[18] 


17 


article  made  by  the  rapporteur  when  presenting  this  Convention 
to  the  Assembly  is  important.  It  is  as  follows: 

In  drafting  this  Article,  the  Committee  confronted  perhaps 
the  most  difficult  of  the  problems  before  it.  After  much  con- 
sideration, the  present  drafting  was  finally  agreed.  It  repre- 
sents a definite  attempt  to  deal  with  the  question  of  forced 
labour  in  a general  international  agreement.  This  alone  marks 
progress  of  considerable  importance. 

The  Committee  was  very  anxious  to  put  into  the  Convention 
all  the  provisions  necessary  to  prevent  forced  labour  giving  rise 
to  conditions  analogous  to  slavery.  With  this  object  in  view, 
it  has  agreed  that  forced  labour  should  only  be  resorted  to  for 
public  purposes,  apart  from  purely  transitory  arrangements 
designed  for  the  progressive  abolition  of  forced  labour  for  pri- 
vate purposes  both  just  and  practicable.  In  this  connection 
it  will  be  observed  that  stringent  conditions  are  imposed  on 
forced  labour  for  private  purposes  even  during  the  transitory 
period.  Among  these  conditions  is  the  requirement  that  ade- 
quate remuneration  should  be  paid  to  those  subjected  to  forced 
labour.  In  the  case  of  forced  labour  for  public  purposes,  this 
condition  is  not  repeated.  This  omission  has  been  made  be- 
cause there  are  cases  where  forced  labour  for  public  purposes 
is  not  remunerated  in  the  ordinary  sense  of  that  word.  For 
instance,  in  certain  countries  labour  for  public  purposes  is 
accepted  instead  of  taxes.  There  are  also  exceptional  cases  in 
which  it  could  scarcely  be  said  that  compulsory  labour  for 
public  purposes  is,  strictly  speaking,  remunerated.  But  though 
the  requirement  that  adequate  remuneration  should  be  paid  for 
forced  labour  for  public  purposes  is  not  included  in  the  Conven- 
tion, the  Committee  is  strongly  of  opinion  that  such  remuneration 
should  as  a general  rule  be  paid.  It  is  also  of  opinion  that  forced 
labour,  even  for  public  purposes,  should  not  as  a general  rule 
be  resorted  to  unless  voluntary  labour  is  unobtainable.  It, 
therefore,  suggests  that  the  Assembly  should  pass  a resolution 
to  this  effect.  (A,  104,  1926,  VI.) 

The  following  two  resolutions  adopted  by  the  Assembly  should  be 
noted : 

II.  The  Assembly: 

While  recognizing  that  forced  labour  for  public  purposes 
is  sometimes  necessary,  is  of  the  opinion  that,  as  a general  rule, 
it  should  not  be  resorted  to  unless  it  is  impossible  to  obtain 
voluntary  labour  and  should  receive  adequate  remuneration. 

IV.  The  Assembly: 

Taking  note  of  the  work  undertaken  by  the  International 

[19]  . 


i8 


Labour  Office  in  conformity  with  the  mission  entrusted  to  it 
and  within  the  limits  of  its  constitution; 

Considering  that  these  studies  naturally  include  the  problem  of 
forced  labour; 

Requests  the  Council  to  inform  the  Governing  Body  of  the 
International  Labour  Office  of  the  adoption  of  the  Slavery 
Convention,  and  to  draw  its  attention  to  the  importance  of 
the  work  undertaken  by  the  Office  with  a view  to  studying  the 
best  means  of  preventing  forced  or  compulsory  labour  from 
developing  into  conditions  analogous  to  slavery. 

The  International  Labor  Organization  has  acted  upon  this  proposal 
by  appointing  a Commission  of  Experts,  which  gives  assurance  that 
the  most  careful  preparatory  work  will  be  done  in  order  to  arrive  at 
international  decisions  on  this  question. 

Therefore,  although  this  Article  5 does  not  fully  satisfy  all  that  it 
was  hoped  might  be  provided  for  in  this  Convention,  it  is  probably 
necessary  to  recognize  that  it  is  all  that  could  be  achieved  at  this 
time.  For  the  present,  it  seems  desirable  to  accept  the  article  as  it 
stands,  dealing  as  it  does  with  some  broad  principles.  For  further 
progress,  support  should  be  given  in  every  possible  way  to  the  work 
now  undertaken  by  the  International  Labor  Organization  in  the 
hope  that  further  advance  steps  may  be  taken  as  a result  of  the 
investigation  and  recommendations  of  that  Organization  and  its 
Commission. 

Article  6 

Those  of  the  High  Contracting  Parties  whose  laws  do  not 
at  present  make  adequate  provision  for  the  punishment  of 
infractions  of  laws  and  regulations  enacted  with  a view  to  giving 
effect  to  the  purposes  of  the  present  convention  undertake  to 
adopt  the  necessary  measures  in  order  that  severe  penalties 
may  be  imposed  in  respect  of  such  infractions. 

The  desirability  of  attaching  severe  penalties  to  the  legislation 
against  the  slave  trade  is  too  evident  to  need  comment.  The  adop- 
tion of  such  legislation  is  an  obligation  resulting  automatically  from 
the  ratification  and  coming  into  force  of  the  Convention.  Attention 
must  therefore  be  given  to  constitutional  questions  and  the  limita- 
tions of  treaty-making  powers  in  enacting  legislation  that  will  be 
applied  not  only  in  the  United  States  but  also  in  the  Philippine 
Islands  and  other  possessions.  This  is  discussed  in  a subsequent 
section  of  this  memorandum. 

* [20] 


19 


Article  7 

The  High  Contracting  Parties  undertake  to  communicate 
to  each  other  and  to  the  Secretary-General  of  the  League  of 
Nations  any  laws  and  regulations  which  they  may  enact  with 
a view  to  the  application  of  the  provisions  of  the  present  con- 
vention. 

This  article  is  supplemented  by  another  resolution  adopted  by  the 
Assembly,  which  reads  as  follows: 

III.  The  Assembly: 

Desires  that  the  League  of  Nations  should  continue  to  interest 
itself  in  securing  the  progressive  abolition  of  slavery  and  condi- 
tions analogous  thereto  and  therefore  begs  that  the  Council 
will  prepare  and  communicate  to  the  Assembly  every  year  a 
document  mentioning  the  laws  and  regulations  which  parties 
to  the  Convention  on  Slavery,  in  accordance  with  Article  7,  will 
have  communicated  to  the  Secretary-General,  and  that  the 
Council  will  include  therein  any  supplementary  information 
which  the  Members  of  the  League  may  be  disposed  spontane- 
ously to  furnish  with  regard  to  the  measures  taken  by  them 
to  this  end. 

It  seems  important  that  some  provision  for  a central  office  should 
be  made,  just  as  in  the  Brussels  Convention  the  Government  of 
Belgium  was  originally  designated  for  that  purpose.  In  view  of  all 
the  circumstances,  it  seems  advisable  that  the  League  of  Nations 
should  be  so  designated  in  this  Convention.  By  the  terms  of  the 
Resolution  quoted  above,  the  Council  of  the  League  will  publish 
annually  such  information  concerning  the  state  of  affairs  in  relation 
to  slavery  and  forced  labor  as  the  Signatory  States  “ may  be  disposed 
spontaneously  to  furnish,  ” and  it  therefore  appears  that  this  provision 
is  unobjectionable  and  highly  desirable.  A few  reports  such  as  this 
article  calls  for,  were  presented  by  the  Council  to  the  Assembly  in 
September,  1927. 

Article  8 

The  High  Contracting  Parties  agree  that  disputes  arising 
between  them  relating  to  the  interpretation  or  application  of 
this  Convention  shall,  if  they  cannot  be  settled  by  direct  nego- 
tiation, be  referred  for  decision  to  the  Permanent  Court  of  Inter- 
national Justice.  In  case  either  or  both  of  the  States  parties  to 
such  a dispute  should  not  be  parties  to  the  Protocol  of  the 
16th  December,  1920,  relating  to  the  Permanent  Court  of 
International  Justice,  the  dispute  shall  be  referred,  at  the 
choice  of  the  parties  and  in  accordance  with  the  constitutional 

[21  ] 


20 


procedure  of  each  State,  either  to  the  Permanent  Court  of 
International  Justice  or  to  a court  of  arbitration  constituted 
in  accordance  with  the  Convention  of  the  18th  October,  1907, 
for  the  Pacific  Settlement  of  International  Disputes,  or  to  some 
other  court  of  arbitration. 


Article  9 

At  the  time  of  signature  or  of  ratification  or  of  accession, 
any  High  Contracting  Party  may  declare  that  its  acceptance 
of  the  present  convention  does  not  bind  some  or  all  of  the  terri- 
tories placed  under  its  sovereignty,  jurisdiction,  protection, 
suzerainty  or  tutelage  in  respect  of  all  or  any  provisions  of 
the  convention;  it  may  subsequently  accede  separately  on 
behalf  of  any  one  of  them  or  in  respect  of  any  provision  to 
which  any  one  of  them  is  not  a party. 

Article  10 

In  the  event  of  a High  Contracting  Party  wishing  to  de- 
nounce the  present  Convention,  the  denunciation  shall  be 
notified  in  writing  to  the  Secretary-General  of  the  League 
of  Nations,  who  will  at  once  communicate  a certified  true  copy 
of  the  notification  to  all  the  other  High  Contracting  Parties, 
informing  them  of  the  date  on  which  it  was  received. 

The  denunciation  shall  only  have  effect  in  regard  to  the 
notifying  State,  and  one  year  after  the  notification  has  reached 
the  Secretary-General  of  the  League  of  Nations. 

Denunciation  may  also  be  made  separately  in  respect  of  any 
territory  placed  under  its  sovereignty,  jurisdiction,  protection, 
suzerainty,  or  tutelage. 

Article  1 1 

The  present  Convention,  which  will  bear  this  day’s  date  and 
of  which  the  French  and  English  texts  are  both  authentic,  will 
remain  open  for  signature  by  the  States  members  of  the  League 
of  Nations  until  the  1st  April,  1927. 

The  Secretary-General  of  the  League  of  Nations  will  subse- 
quently bring  the  present  Convention  to  the  notice  of  States 
which  have  not  signed  it,  including  States  which  are  not  mem- 
bers of  the  League  of  Nations,  and  invite  them  to  accede 
thereto. 

A State  desiring  to  accede  to  the  Convention  shall  notify 
its  intention  in  writing  to  the  Secretary-General  of  the  League 
of  Nations  and  transmit  to  him  the  instrument  of  accession, 
which  shall  be  deposited  in  the  archives  of  the  League. 

The  Secretary-General  shall  immediately  transmit  to  all 
the  other  High  Contracting  Parties  a certified  true  copy  of  the 

[22] 


• 21 


notification  and  of  the  instrument  of  accession,  informing  them 
of  the  date  on  which  he  received  them. 

Article  12 

The  present  Convention  will  be  ratified  and  the  instruments 
of  ratification  shall  be  deposited  in  the  office  of  the  Secretary- 
General  of  the  League  of  Nations.  The  Secretary-General 
will  inform  all  the  High  Contracting  Parties  of  such  deposit. 

The  Convention  will  come  into  operation  for  each  State  on 
the  date  of  the  deposit  of  its  ratification  or  of  its  accession. 

These  articles  are  of  the  same  nature  as  have  been  inserted  in 
several  other  recent  international  conventions,  and  do  not  appear  to 
call  for  any  comment. 

On  the  Convention  as  a whole,  while  it  will  appear  to  many  that 
it  might  have  been  improved  in  several  places,  it  is  also  quite  clear 
that  it  is  about  all  that  could  be  achieved  at  the  present  time. 

Application  of  the  Convention  to  the  United  States 
and  Their  Possessions 

Articles  1,  2,  3. 

Slavery  and  involuntary  servitude  were  made  a federal  concern 
by  the  Thirteenth  Amendment  to  the  Constitution  of  the  United 
States  which  reads: 

Section  1.  Neither  Slavery  nor  involuntary  servitude,  except 
as  a punishment  for  crime  whereof  the  party  shall  have  been 
duly  convicted  shall  exist  within  the  United  States,  or  any  place 
subject  to  their  jurisdiction. 

Section  2.  Congress  shall  have  power  to  enforce  this  article 
by  appropriate  legislation. 

The  policy  of  this  country  is  fully  in  accord  with  that  of  the  pro- 
posed convention  so  that  in  ratifying  it  the  United  States  would  be 
doing  no  more  than  approving  the  application  of  an  American 
principle  on  a world-wide  scale.  The  Thirteenth  Amendment  has 
been  liberally  construed  by  the  Courts  of  the  United  States.  It  has 
been  held  to  have  freed  the  slaves  of  a self-governing  Indian  tribe 
without  supplementary  legislation15  and  to  have  prohibited  slavery 
in  Alaska  under  the  custom  of  a native  tribe.16 

The  expression  in  the  Convention,  “compulsory  or  forced  labour,  ” 
is  included  in  the  term  “involuntary  servitude”  of  the  Thirteenth 

15  U.  S.  v.  Choctaw  Nation,  38  Ct.  of  Claims  Rep.  556. 

18  Re  Sah  Quah,  31  Fed.  327. 


[23] 


22  • 


Amendment,  as  interpreted  by  the  Courts.  “The  State  may  impose 
involuntary  servitude  as  a punishment  for  crime,  but  it  may  not 
compel  one  man  to  labor  for  another  in  payment  of  a debt,  by 
punishing  him  as  a criminal  if  he  does  not  perform  the  service  or  pay 
the  debt.”17  The  Constitution  has  abolished  slavery  and  peonage  as 
an  institution  of  American  law.  One  human  being  can  no  longer  be 
compelled  against  his  will  to  work  for  another,  but  the  Constitution 
did  not  make  it  a crime  for  one  man  to  try  to  compel  another  to 
work  for  him.  It  freed  the  slaves,  it  did  not  punish  the  slave  holder.18 
This  duty  devolved  on  Congress,  and  Congress  has  carried  it  out. 
Not  only  is  holding  or  attempting  to  hold  a person  as  a slave  made  a 
crime,  but  the  same  criminal  penalty  is  extended  to  peonage  by 
Sections  268-271  of  the  Criminal  Code  of  the  United  States.19  Thus 
forced  labor  is  forbidden  by  law  in  the  United  States. 

The  exception  in  Article  5 permitting  forced  labor  for  public 
purposes  has  an  American  precedent  and  would  cover  compulsory 
labor  on  the  public  roads  as  permitted  in  this  country.  Persons  may 
also  be  compelled  to  fight  fire  and  repair  levees  where  there  is  an 
immediate  need.  The  Supreme  Court  has  declared  “the  Thirteenth 
Amendment  certainly  was  not  intended  to  interdict  enforcement  of 
those  duties  which  individuals  owe  to  the  State,”  in  cases  where 
ancient  custom  authorized  such  employment.20  Another  case  in 
which  a person  can  be  forced  to  labor  without  his  consent  was  also 
held  on  the  ground  of  an  ancient  custom  not  within  the  Amendment 
when  the  Court  decided  that  a seaman  could  be  compelled  to  complete 
a voyage  under  his  contract.21  Forced  labor  by  prisoners  as  a punish- 
ment for  crime  is  clearly  not  within  the  language  of  the  Convention. 

Subd.  3.  Who  are  the  central  authorities  of  the  territory  con- 
cerned? The  Colonial  authorities  in  British  Crown  colonies  have  no 
international  standing  and  can  only  be  reached  internationally 
through  the  Colonial  Office  in  London.  The  Colonial  Office  must, 
therefore,  be  internationally  responsible  for  the  acts  of  the  Central 
authorities  of  a crown  colony.  The  same  rule  will  probably  hold  in 
respect  to  a Colony  of  France  or  Portugal.  The  self-governing  domin- 
ions of  the  British  Empire  and  India  have  international  standing 

17  Tyler  v.  Heiden,  46  Barb  (N.  Y.)  458. 

18  U.  S.  v.  Cabanag,  8 Phil.  Rep.  64. 

18  Laws  of  the  United  States,  Title  18,  Sections  443-446. 

20  Butler  v.  Perry,  240  U.  S.  281. 

11  Robertson  v.  Baldwin,  16s  U.  S.  275.  Congress  has  changed  this  rule  by  the  La- 
Follette  Act,  38  Statutes  at  Large,  1166. 


[24] 


23 

sufficient  to  make  their  governments  responsible  as  “central  author- 
ities” under  this  Convention. 

Under  the  Convention  the  question  would  arise  in  respect  to  the 
Philippines  as  to  whether  the  “competent  central  authority”  of  the 
territory  concerned  would  be  the  Philippine  Government.  Under 
the  Jones  Act,  the  charter  of  the  Philippine  Government,22  the 
legislative  power  over  the  Islands  is  vested  in  the  Legislature  subject 
to  the  veto  of  the  Governor.  The  administration  of  the  law  is  then 
carried  out  under  the  Governor-General  and  his  Council,  especially 
in  the  lower  courts,  which  are  the  most  important  in  cases  of  peonage, 
by  the  Philippine  government  which  is  largely  officered  by  Philippine 
judges,  who  are  also  mostly  natives  of  the  Islands.  So  that  the 
primary  responsibility  of  enforcing  the  laws  passed  to  carry  out 
the  Convention,  would  rest  on  the  Island  Government  and  princi- 
pally on  native  Filipinos.  This  would  not  be  a new  responsibility. 
The  Jones  Act  now  provides  for  the  abolition  of  slavery  in  the  Islands 
and  adds  “ nor  shall  involuntary  servitude  exist  therein,  except  as  a 
punishment  for  crime,  whereof  the  party  shall  have  been  duly  con- 
victed.” Consequently  the  Philippine  Government  is  thus  now 
under  a duty  to  take  any  measures  necessary  to  put  the  Convention 
into  force  in  the  Islands. 

Articles  7,  10,  11,  12. 

These  articles  make  the  Secretary-General  the  means  of  communi- 
cation between  the  contracting  parties  and  make  his  office  the  Regis- 
tration Bureau  for  accessions  to  the  covenant  and  instruments  of 
ratification.  The  Secretary-General  under  this  Convention  acts 
in  a purely  ministerial  capacity  with  no  discretionary  power.  In 
the  case  of  multilateral  treaties,  such  as  this  Convention,  which 
are  open  to  the  accession  of  other  Powers,  it  is  evident  that  there 
must  be  some  central  office  to  which  accessions  can  be  notified  and 
which  will  then  communicate  the  fact  of  accessions  to  the  Contracting 
Parties.  Otherwise,  it  would  be  necessary  for  each  State  desiring 
to  adhere  to  notify  separately  each  signatory  government.  Further- 
more, in  case  of  such  conventions,  which  require  the  large  number  of 
countries  which  are  parties  to  keep  one  another  informed  of  the 
legislation  and  administrative  regulations  which  constitute  the 
execution  of  the  contract,  it  is  a manifest  convenience  to  establish 
a central  office  to  which  information  is  sent  and  which  will  then 

22  30  Statutes  at  Large,  545. 


[25] 


24 


distribute  it.  Before  the  League  Secretariat  was  set  up  at  Geneva, 
it  was  customary  to  select  one  of  its  signatory  governments  to  per- 
form this  function.  For  example,  the  Belgian  Government  was 
selected  for  notifications  in  the  Convention  of  1890.  The  office 
of  the  Secretary-General  at  Geneva  is  convenient  both  as  a registry 
of  ratification  and  accessions  to  multilateral  treaties,  and  as  a means 
of  centralizing  and  circulating  information.  There  seems  to  be  no 
valid  reason  why  the  United  States  and  other  contracting  countries 
should  not  make  use  of  this  international  agency  for  these  purposes 
instead  of  burdening  the  foreign  office  of  a single  government,  and 
it  certainly  could  not  be  argued  that  doing  so  constituted  a step 
towards  entry  into  the  League. 

General  Observations 

The  development  of  an  international  conscience  is  shown  very 
clearly  in  the  history  of  international  action  against  slavery.  The 
earlier  record  has  been  referred  to  on  preceding  pages.  The  present 
Convention  is  a long  step  forward  from  the  Brussels  Convention 
which  prohibited  only  the  slave  trade.  This  Convention  strikes  at 
the  root  of  the  evil  and  contains  an  agreement  by  the  Powers  to 
take  action  within  their  own  boundaries  and  to  limit  the  right  of 
their  own  citizens  to  hold  slaves;  and,  furthermore,  to  take  all  neces- 
sary measures  to  prevent  compulsory  or  forced  labor  from  developing 
into  conditions  analogous  to  slavery.  (Article  5.)  From  inter- 
national condemnation  of  the  traffic,  we  have  passed  to  international 
condemnation  of  the  institution.  That  which  was  attempted  with 
partial  success  in  1919  is  now  being  carried  forward  to  complete 
achievement. 

The  policy  of  our  government  with  reference  to  such  proposals 
as  this  which  issue  from  the  League  of  Nations  was  well  stated  in 
the  Speech  of  the  Hon.  Charles  E.  Hughes  delivered  at  the  New 
York  Republican  State  Convention,  April  15,  1924,  when  he  said: — 

There  is  no  more  difficulty  in  dealing  with  the  organization 
of  the  League  in  this  way  for  the  purpose  of  protecting  our 
interests  or  furthering  our  policies  than  there  would  be  in  dealing 
with  the  British  Empire.  Because  several  nations  have  formed 
an  organization  of  which  we  are  not  a part  is  no  reason  why 
we  cannot  cooperate  in  all  matters  affecting  our  proper  con- 
cern. We  simply  adjust  our  forms  of  contact  and  negotiations 
to  the  existing  conditions.  The  matter  of  real  importance  is 

[26] 


25 


with  respect  to  the  subjects  that  we  take  up.  We  do  not  take 
up  subjects  which  would  draw  us  into  matters  not  approved 
by  American  sentiment..  When  we  do  take  up  a subject  it  is 
because  this  government  desires  it  to  be  taken  up,  and  the 
same  would  be  true  under  any  form  of  action. 

The  same  position  was  taken  by  Secretary  Kellogg  in  an  address 
before  the  Council  on  Foreign  Relations  in  New  York  on  December 

14,  1925:— 

The  United  States  has  always  been  willing  to  attend  these 
conferences  and  to  aid  in  every  way  possible  in  the  establish- 
ment of  principles  for  the  advancement  of  science,  of  trade 
and  commerce,  for  the  amelioration  of  the  horrors  of  war,  the 
settlement  of  the  principles  of  international  law,  the  prevention 
of  disease,  and  the  aiding  of  agricultural  and  other  activities 
which  are  the  subject  of  international  consideration. 

The  United  States  of  America,  though  not  a colonizing  power,  and 
having  no  governmental  responsibilities  in  Africa,  must  be  inter- 
ested in  this  question  concerning,  as  it  does,  the  welfare  of  a large 
portion  of  mankind,  including  some  in  its  own  possessions.  The 
history  of  our  country,  the  responsibility  resting  upon  us  because 
of  our  place  in  the  world,  our  trade  in  tropical  areas,  and  various 
other  considerations  insistently  urge  that  every  possible  and  legiti- 
mate assistance  be  given  to  obtain  international  agreements  that 
will  effectively  protect  men  and  women  everywhere  from  the  abusive 
exploitations  of  their  labor.  It  would  seem,  therefore,  not  only 
natural  but  of  the  greatest  importance  that  the  United  States  Govern- 
ment should  cooperate  to  the  fullest  possible  extent  in  this  new  effort 
to  adopt  a new  international  convention,  which  (as  its  exponent 
claimed  for  it)  “Will  constitute  one  of  the  greatest  advances  towards 
human  freedom  which  has  ever  been  made  . . . and  will  free 

tens  or  hundreds  of  thousands  of  unhappy  beings  from  conditions 
which  closely  resemble  slavery,  and  which  now  exist,  and  will  be 
of  untold  advantage  to  humanity  in  general.” 


[27] 


26 


APPENDIX  I.  STUDY  OF  QUESTIONS  RELATING  TO  NATIVE 
LABOR  BY  THE  INTERNATIONAL  LABOR  ORGANIZATION 

The  International  Labour  Office  is  called  upon  to  study  native  labour 
questions,  in  the  first  place  in  connection  with  the  conditions  of  applica- 
tion of  Conventions,  by  countries  which  have  ratified  them,  to  their 
colonies,  protectorates  and  possessions  which  are  not  fully  self- 
governing  in  virtue  of  Article  421  of  the  Treaty  of  Versailles,  and, 
in  the  second  place  in  connection  with  conditions  of  labour  in  mandated 
territories.  Moreover,  the  Governing  Body,  at  the  sessions  of  July, 
1922,  specially  considered  the  need  for  collecting  and  making  available 
informations  on  native  labour  questions,  and  intrusted  this  task  to  the 
Diplomatic  Division  of  the  Office  as  the  service  concerned  with  the 
application  of  Article  421  and  labour  questions  in  countries  under 
mandate. 

Since  that  time,  the  information  collected,  the  experience  gained 
in  connection  with  the  work  of  the  representative  of  the  International 
Labour  Organization  on  the  Permanent  Mandates  Commission  and 
on  the  Temporary  Slavery  Commission,  and,  finally,  the  decisions  of 
the  Sixth  Assembly  of  the  League  of  Nations  thereon,  combined  to 
make  it  appear  that  the  time  was  ripe  for  considering  whether  certain 
of  the  more  serious  problems  of  native  labour  should  not  be  dealt  with 
by  the  International  Labour  Conference. 

At  its  session  in  May,  1926,  after  the  resolution  of  the  Sixth  Assembly 
of  the  League  of  Nations  quoted  on  pages  19-20,  the  Governing  Body 
of  the  International  Labour  Office  received  proposals  submitted  to  it  by 
the  Director  for  the  appointment  of  a Commission  to  undertake  an  in- 
quiry relating  to  native  labor.  The  following  quotations  from  this  memo- 
randum outline  the  purpose  and  character  of  the  inquiry: 

The  views  of  the  Office  on  the  possibility  of  international  action  in 
regard  to  native  labour  are  set  forth  below.  The  programme  is,  of  course, 
a provisional  one  only.  It  has  not  yet  been  possible  to  secure  the 
opinion  of  experts  in  the  matter,  except  such  individuals  as  may  have 
been  brought  personally  into  contact  with  the  representative  of  the 
Office  on  the  Mandates  and  Slavery  Commissions;  with  regard  to  these 
it  is  believed  that  their  opinion  would  be  favorable  to  the  line  of  pro- 
cedure indicated.  Nevertheless  the  Office  considers  that  much  would 
be  gained  by  an  immediate  convocation  of  the  consultative  body 
contemplated.  It  would  be  asked  to  state  its  opinion  on  the  matters 
set  out  below  and  thus  to  lay  the  foundations  of  the  work  in  this  sphere 
which  the  Organization  is  called  upon  to  take. 

Its  function,  as  the  Office  conceives  it,  would  not  end  there.  The 
members  it  is  felt,  could  be  further  consulted  on  special  points  which 
may  arise  in  the  course  of  the  studies  and  investigations  undertaken 
by  the  Office.  In  all  probability  it  would  be  possible  to  carry  on  this 
consultation,  after  a first  preliminary  meeting,  by  correspondence,  and 
further  meetings  would  only  be  held  if  they  were  required  by  cir- 
cumstances. 


[28] 


27 


If  then  the  Governing  Body  approves  this  projected  course  of 
action,  the  Director  proposes  to  proceed  at  once,  within  the  limits 
which  may  prove  to  be  permissible  under  the  present  financial  cir- 
cumstances, to  a consultation  of  experts  on  the  matters  set  out  below, 
and  on  the  general  policy  as  to  international  action  in  regard  to  the 
problems  of  labour  now  under  consideration. 

Demand  for  international  action  concerning  native  labour1  takes  two 
principal  forms.  On  the  one  hand  the  necessity  has  frequently  been 
urged  (e.  g.  at  the  Permanent  Mandates  Commission,  the  Temporary 
Slavery  Commission,  the  Assembly  and  the  Commissions  of  the  League, 
and  by  various  humanitarian  societies)  for  the  formulation  of  what  is 
described  as  a Charter  of  Native  Labour,  intended  to  lay  down  by 
international  agreement  the  minimum  standards  of  labour  conditions 
which  should  be  generally  adopted.  On  the  other  hand  problems  which 
have  attracted  much  study  and  attention,  particularly  by  the  Slavery 
and  Mandates  Commissions,  and  the  Assembly  of  1925  are  those  of 
forced  labour  and  indentured  labour. 

With  regard  to  the  first  of  these  subjects,  the  formulation  of  a 
“ Charter  of  Native  Labor,  ” the  Office  is  of  opinion  that  it  is  a mistake 
to  suppose  that  any  relatively  simple  document  to  which  the  name 
Charter  could  be  applied  would  meet  the  position  of  today.  The 
employment  of  native  populations  in  the  service  of  others  has  now  be- 
come so  widespread  and  important,  the  divergencies  of  conditions  and 
method  are  so  great,  that  it  seems  impossible  to  hope  for  the  early 
adoption,  in  a single  document,  of  what  would  be  in  effect  a labour  code 
intended  to  be  applicable  under  widely  differing  circumstances. 

The  Office  believes  that  the  prospect  of  international  agreement, 
and  therefore  of  effective  success,  in  this  domain  is  far  greater  if  the 
procedure  adopted  be  one  comparable  to  that  adopted  in  regard  to  labour 
legislation  in  general;  that  is,  the  Office  considers  that  the  Organiza- 
tion should  examine  from  time  to  time  particular  questions  connected 
with  native  labour  with  a view  to  the  adoption  of  Conventions  by  the 
Conference. 

The  Office  considers  further  that  the  work  might  with  advantage  be 
begun  at  the  point  where  humanitarian  interest  dictates  action  most 
urgently,  namely  with  these  forms  of  labour  which  still  retain  servile 
elements,  in  particular  with  forced  or  compulsory  labour  and  with 
indentured  labour.  It  is  the  case,  moreover,  that  these  forms,  being 
peculiarly  liable  to  abuse,  have  been  the  subject  of  legislation  and  of 
treaties  in  almost  all  the  areas  where  they  are  found;  there  is  con- 
sequently a greater  body  of  material  available  upon  which  international 
agreement  might  be  based. 

Forced  or  Compulsory  Labour 

Certain  general  principles  concerning  forced  or  compulsory  labour 
have  received  international  sanction,  in  the  texts  of  the  “B”  and  “C” 
Mandates  adopted  by  the  Principal  Allied  Powers  and  approved  by 
the  Council  of  the  League  of  Nations,  in  the  Report  of  the  Temporary 

1 The  term  "Native  Labor"  is  here  used  as  a convenient  expression  to  denote  the  labor 
of  peoples  who  are  not  yet  considered  capable  of  taking  an  effective  part  in  the  administra- 
tion and  of  directly  affecting  the  legislation  of  the  country  in  which  they  live,  and  who, 
therefore,  when  they  work  in  the  service  of  others,  perform  their  labor  under  conditions 
over  which  they  have  no  control  and  in  the  determining  of  which  they  have  no  direct 
voice. 


[29] 


28 


Slavery  Commission,  and  in  the  Draft  Convention  on  Slavery  adopted 
by  the  Sixth  Assembly  and  now  under  consideration  by  the  govern- 
ments. 

These  principles,  however,  concern  only  the  circumstances  under 
which  it  was  thought  permissible  to  have  recourse  to  forced  labour: 
neither  the  Temporary  Slavery  Commission  nor  the  Assembly  of  the 
League  considered  detailed  regulations  in  regard  to  forced  labour,  on 
the  express  ground  that  the  International  Labor  Organization  is 
specially  competent  in  this  respect. 

The  Office  has  already,  in  the  course  of  its  study  of  the  conditions  of 
native  labour  and  in  furtherance  of  its  duties  in  connection  with  the 
Mandates  and  Slavery  Commissions,  made  a detailed  examination 
of  much  existing  legislation  on  forced  labour,  and  is  of  opinion  that 
international  agreement  concerning  the  regulations  that  should  govern 
the  application  of  forced  labour  for  public  purposes,  so  long  as  such  labour 
is  considered  admissible,  appears  to  be  possible  and  is  desirable. 

The  questions  to  be  dealt  with  in  this  connection  may  be  grouped 
conveniently  as  follows:  > 

GENERAL  PRESCRIPTIONS 

(1)  The  authorities  empowered  to  exact  forced  labour  and  the  admin- 

istrative machinery  employed. 

(2)  The  nature  of  the  public  works  and  services  for  which  recourse 

to  forced  labour  is  permissible. 

(3)  The  categories  of  natives  liable  to  forced  labour  (exemption  of  the 

unfit,  aged,  women,  children,  etc.). 

(4)  The  possibility  of  commutation  of  forced  labour  by  payments. 

LIMITATIONS 

(1)  as  to  the  duration  of  the  labour  imposed. 

(2)  as  to  the  distance  to  which  a forced  labourer  may  be  transferred 

(climatic  differences  being  taken  into  account). 

(3)  as  to  the  proportion  of  forced  labourers  which  may  be  taken  from 

a given  community. 

REGULATIONS  GOVERNING  THE  CONDITIONS  OF  FORCED  LABOUR 

(1)  Payment,  including  method  of  payment. 

(2)  Hours  of  labour. 

(3)  Medical  care;  sanitation;  accommodation. 

(4)  Indemnity  for  sickness,  accident  or  death. 

(5)  Food  supply. 

(6)  Transport  of  workers  and  travelling  allowances. 

It  will  be  noted  that  no  mention  is  here  made  of  forced  labour  for 
private  employers.  Such  labour  is  not  admissible  under  the  Mandates 
system,  and  in  the  Draft  Convention  on  Slavery,  as  has  been  said, 
though  admitted  it  is  regarded  as  a form  of  labour  which  should  be 
abolished.  The  Office  believes  that  the  Conference  would  be  unlikely 
to  consider  this  form  of  labour  except  with  a desire  to  put  an  immediate 
end  to  it;  no  proposals  are  therefore  made  for  considering  its  regulation. 

[30] 


Indentured  or  Contract  Labour 

In  this  connection,  there  exists,  so  far  as  the  Office  is  aware,  no 
general  international  convention.  There  are,  however,  a number  of 
particular  treaties  and  agreements  for  the  protection  of  indentured 
workers  and  a considerable  legislation  governing  the  terms  of  con- 
tracts. The  points  which  might  be  studied  by  the  Office  in  this  con- 
nection would  appear  to  be  the  following: 

RECRUITMENT  OF  WORKERS  UNDER  CONTRACT 

Provisions  to  secure  the  freedom  of  the  worker  in  making  the  con- 
tract, his  understanding  of  its  terms  and  his  physical  fitness  for  the 
work. 

The  question  of  workers  being  accompanied  by  their  wives;  the 
indenturing  of  women  workers. 

THE  CONTRACT 

Clauses  to  be  inserted  in  all  contracts,  indicating 

(a)  the  period  of  the  engagement,  and  the  condition  under  which 

it  may  be  prolonged. 

(b)  the  place  where  the  work  is  to  be  carried  out  and  the  arrange- 

ments made  for  the  transport  of  the  worker  to  and  from  it,  and 
for  his  maintenance  during  the  voyages. 

(c)  wages  and  the  method  of  payment. 

(d)  the  supply  of  tools,  food,  clothing,  and  housing  accommodation. 

(e)  medical  attention. 

(f)  compensation  in  case  of  sickness,  accident  or  death,  including 

the  repatriation  of  the  unfit  by  reason  of  sickness  or  accident. 

(g)  provisions  in  case  of  breach  of  contract  by  either  party  to  it, 
including  the  question  of  penal  sanctions  (i.  e.  the  considering  of 
breach  of  contract  on  the  part  of  the  worker  as  a criminal  offense). 

PROTECTION  OF  THE  WORKER  UNDER  CONTRACT 

Creation  of  an  authority  charged  with  the  special  duty  of  supervis- 
ing contracts  and  their  application,  and  of  acting  as  protector  of 
the  contracted  workers;  when  the  latter  are  not  employed  in  their 
own  country,  participation  of  their  home  authorities  in  this  super- 
vision and  protection. 

General  Industrial  Conditions 

The  two  former  questions  deal  with  conditions  peculiar  to  the 
employment  of  native  labour  and  hence  not  yet  treated  in  any  way  in 
the  Conventions  and  recommendations  concerning  the  general  condi- 
tions of  labour  hitherto  adopted  by  the  Conference. 

They  do  not  of  course  exhaust  the  matter:  there  are  a number  of 
other  questions  which  do  not  arise  under  ordinary  industrial  condi- 
tions and  which  have  led  to  considerable  difficulties.  One  in  particular 
may  be  cited  because  of  its  gravity  at  the  present  moment  in  certain 
areas:  it  is  that  of  the  existence  of  restrictions,  based  upon  color  or 
race,  which  prevent  native  workers  from  being  employed  in  skilled 
labour  even  though  they  may  be  qualified  workers. 

[3i  ] 


30 


The  Office  suggests  that  this  question,  which  affects  a limited 
number  of  areas  but  which  may,  if  it  becomes  more  general,  become 
of  international  importance,  should  be  the  object  for  the  time  being 
of  careful  study  and  that  a memorandum  on  the  matter  should  be 
submitted  to  the  Governing  Body  at  an  early  date. 

With  regard  to  more  general  questions  such  as  those  dealt  with 
so  far  by  the  Conference,  it  will  be  recalled  that  under  Article  421  of 
the  Treaty  of  Versailles  [in  respect  to  labor  conventions],  states 
which  have  ratified  Conventions  undertake  to  apply  them  “to  their 
colonies,  protectorates  and  possessions  which  are  not  fully  self- 
governing. 

(1)  Except  where  owing  to  the  local  conditions  the  Convention  is 
inapplicable,  or 

(2)  Subject  to  such  modifications  as  may  be  necessary  to  adapt 
the  Convention  to  local  conditions.” 

The  information  so  far  received  by  the  Office  in  regard  to  the 
working  of  this  article  seems  to  point  to  the  fact  that,  in  general,  the 
Conventions  adopted  by  the  Conference  are  considered  inapplicable 
to  the  special  conditions  of  native  labour.  Yet  problems  of  the  same 
nature  as  those  found  in  industrially  developed  countries  arise  here 
also,  and  have  to  be  met  by  local  legislation.  Examination  of  exist- 
ing legislation  shows  that  such  questions  as  the  regulation  of  hours, 
wages,  the  age  of  admission,  the  provision  of  maternity  benefits, 
medical  attention  and  compensation  for  injury,  sickness  or  death 
have  been  the  concern  of  the  authorities  in  certain  areas,  but  that 
great  differences  exist  in  the  stages  of  industrial  protection  reached. 

In  general,  it  may  be  stated  that  the  degree  of  protection  afforded 
to  the  native  worker  is  relatively  considered  lower  than  that  secured 
by  the  workers  of  industrial  countries,  and  that  much  abuse  and 
resultant  evil  and  unrest  are  reported  from  many  quarters. 

The  differences  in  legislative  protection,  too,  have  the  results  which 
have  been  noticed  in  more  highly  industrialized  countries;  a low 
stage  of  protection  in  one  area  has  repercussions  on  conditions  in 
others,  and  it  would  also  appear  that  they  lead  at  times  to  special 
problems  of  migration  and  depopulation  which  threaten  to  become 
exceedingly  troublesome. 

The  International  Labor  Conference  at  its  session  on  June  5,  1926, 
adopted  the  following  resolution: — 

The  Conference  welcomes  the  decision  reached  by  the  Governing 
Body  to  undertake  an  inquiry  into  conditions  of  native  labour,  and 
expresses  the  hope  that,  as  a result  of  the  labours  of  the  Committee 
of  Experts  which  it  is  proposed  to  establish,  it  may  be  possible  to 
present  a preliminary  report  on  the  matter  to  the  Conference  of  1927. 

The  Committee  appointed  by  the  International  Labor  Organization 
held  its  first  session  in  Geneva,  from  July  7 to  12,  1927.  Its  membership 
includes  the  following  named  persons: — 

General  Freire  d’Andrade  (Portugal),  formerly  Governor-General  of 
Mozambique,  ex-Minister  of  Foreign  Affairs,  Member  of  the  Permanent 
Mandates  Commission,  Member  of  the  Temporary  Slavery  Commission; 
Sir  Selwyn  Fremantle,  C.  S.  I.,  C.  I.  E.  (India);  Mr.  Albrecht  Gohr 

[32  ] 


3i 


(Belgium),  Secretary-General  of  the  Ministry  of  the  Colonies,  Chairman 
of  the  Temporary  Slavery  Commission;  Mr.  Nobubumi  Ito  (Japan), 
Deputy-Director  of  the  Japanese  Bureau  for  the  League  of  Nations  at 
Paris;  Mr.  H.  R.  Joynt  (Malaysia);  Mr.  Camille  Lejeune  (France), 
Director  of  the  Nossi-Be  Company,  Madagascar;  the  Right  Hon.  Sir 
Frederick  Lugard,  G.  C.  M.  G.,  C.  B.,  D.  S.  O.  (Great  Britain),  formerly 
Governor-General  of  Nigeria,  Member  of  the  Permanent  Mandates  Com- 
mission, Member  of  the  Temporary  Slavery  Commission;  Mr.  Martial 
Merlin  (France),  Honorary  Governor-General  of  the  Colonies,  formerly 
Governor-General  of  the  Congo,  and  of  Indo-China,  Member  of  the 
Permanent  Mandates  Commission;  Commandant  G.  Ostini  (Italy), 
Chief  of  the  Colonial  Schools  Office,  Director-General  for  Italians  Abroad, 
Ministry  of  Foreign  Affairs;  Freiherr  von  Rechenberg  (Germany),  YVerk- 
licher  Geheimer  Rath,  formerly  Governor-General  of  German  East  Africa; 
Mr.  van  Rees  (Netherlands),  formerly  Vice-President  of  the  Council  of 
the  East  Indies,  Secretary-General  of  the  Netherlands  Colonial  Institute, 
Vice-President  of  the  Permanent  Mandates  Commission,  Member  of  the 
Temporary  Slavery  Commission;  Mr.  Pedro  Saura  del  Pan  (Spain), 
Consul  at  Oran;  Mr.  H.  M.  Taberer  (Union  of  South  Africa),  chief  Native 
Labor  Adviser  to  the  Transvaal  Chamber  of  Mines. 

All  the  members,  with  the  exception  of  Mr.  H.  R.  Joynt  and  Command- 
ant Ostini,  who  communicated  their  regrets  at  not  being  able  to  attend, 
were  present  at  this  Session. 

At  its  meeting  in  September,  1927,  the  Governing  Body  added  Mr. 
J.  P.  Chamberlain,  Professor  of  Public  Law  and  Director  of  the  Legislative 
Drafting  and  Research  Fund  of  Columbia  University,  New  York  City, 
to  the  membership  of  the  Committee. 

The  Committee  at  its  meeting  in  July  elected  Mr.  Albrecht  Gohr  as  its 
Chairman. 

The  members  of  the  Committee  had  previously  expressed  their  agree- 
ment with  the  Office  on  the  desirability  of  studying  the  two  questions  of 
forced  labor  and  long-term  contracts  with  a view  to  an  international  reg- 
ulation, and  had  indicated  that  the  study  of  forced  labor  appeared  to 
demand  greater  urgency  by  reason  of  the  abuses  which  may  result  from 
it  and  of  the  fact  that  if  these  abuses  are  allowed  to  continue,  conditions 
analogous  to  slavery  would  be  the  outcome  in  certain  territories.  The 
Office  had  prepared  a draft  report  on  Forced  Labor,  and  it  was  this  report 
that  the  Committee  was  called  on  to  consider  at  its  first  session. 

The  discussion  of  Chapter  VII  of  the  Report,  in  which  the  Office  has 
attempted  to  collect  and  classify  the  principles  underlying  the  regulations 
of  forced  labor,  occupied  almost  the  whole  time  of  the  Committee.  The 
Committee  admitted  that  while  the  regulation  of  forced  labor  was  intended 
to  prevent  abuses  arising  under  this  system,  the  real  aim  was  to  hasten 

[33] 


32 


the  disappearance  of  forced  labor  in  all  its  forms.  Recourse  to  forced  labor 
should  only  be  had  in  certain  precise  conditions  which  were  determined 
by  the  Committee.  The  Committee  then  drew  up  the  following  principles 
to  be  applied  in  the  employment  of  forced  labor,  where  persons  be  subjected 
to  it;  forced  labor  should  always  be  remunerated  except  in  cases  of  force 
majeure  or  local  work  in  the  villages;  the  normal  working  hours  should  not 
exceed  8 hours  per  day  or  48  hours  per  week;  Administrations  should  take 
all  the  necessary  measures  to  assure  the  acclimatization  of  workers  removed 
from  their  usual  conditions  of  life  and  they  should  consider  themselves 
responsible  for  the  maintenance  of  workers,  victims  of  accidents  or  ill- 
ness due  to  the  conditions  of  their  employment. 

Undoubtedly  the  most  important  decision,  adopted  by  a majority  of 
votes,  was  that  which  stipulated  that  the  duration  of  forced  labor  for  an 
individual  should  not  exceed  60  days  per  annum  except  in  cases  where 
the  natives  were  obliged  to  go  long  distances  in  order  to  carry  out  the 
work,  when  the  duration  could  be  as  long  as  six  months. 

As  regards  compulsory  cultivation  of  the  land  the  Committee  considered 
that  the  only  form  of  compulsion  which  could  be  authorized  was  the  cul- 
tivation of  the  land  in  order  to  prevent  famine  or  a dearth  of  foodstuffs. 
The  Commission  was  unanimous  in  deciding  that  no  Administration  should 
authorize  forced  labor  for  the  benefit  of  private  persons  or  societies  and 
that  where  forced  labor  of  this  kind  existed  every  effort  should  be  used  to 
put  an  end  to  it  as  soon  as  possible. 

It  was  understood  that  in  approving  these  principles  the  Committee  did 
not  necessarily  mean  to  imply  that  all  of  them  were  suitable  for  insertion 
in  any  future  International  Convention  which  might  be  adopted  on  the 
subject  of  forced  labor. 

In  addition  three  resolutions  were  adopted  by  the  Committee.  The 
first  proposed  by  Mr.  van  Rees  was  as  follows: 

In  view  of  the  continually  increasing  importance  of  the  question 
of  the  conditions  of  labour  in  extra-European  areas  where  industrial 
development  is  still  at  a low  stage: 

And  in  view  of  the  undoubted  utility  of  the  widest  possible  dis- 
semination of  reliable  information  concerning  the  measures  taken 
by  the  various  Administrations  to  safeguard  the  well-being  of  the 
populations  under  their  charge: 

The  Committee  of  Experts  on  Native  Labour  urges  the  Interna- 
tional Labour  Office  to  consider  by  what  means  it  may  be  possible 
to  secure  the  publication  of  complete  information  on  questions 
affecting  labour  conditions  in  such  areas. 

The  second  resolution,  proposed  by  Sir  Frederick  Lugard,  was  con- 
ceived in  the  following  terms: 

This  Committee  considers  the  question  of  the  regulation  of  forced 
labour  to  be  one  of  urgent  importance  for  the  safeguarding  of  the 

[34] 


33 


conditions  of  certain  populations,  and  considers  that  it  should  be 
examined  by  the  International  Labour  Conference  at  an  early  date. 

It  requests  the  Director  of  the  International  Labour  Office  to  com- 
municate this  resolution  to  the  Governing  Body,  which,  under  Article 
400  of  the  Treaty  of  Peace  of  Versailles,  determines  the  agenda  for 
meetings  of  the  Conference. 

The  Third  resolution,  proposed  by  Mr.  Taberer,  ran  as  follows: 

That,  in  the  opinion  of  this  Committee,  all  forced  labour  should 
cease  at  the  earliest  possible  moment,  and  the  Committee  therefore 
recommends  that  it  should  be  the  aim  of  all  Administrations  to  hasten 
the  time  when  forced  labour  of  any  nature  shall  cease  to  be  imposed. 

The  Report  prepared  by  the  Office  will  be  submitted  in  an  amended  form 
resulting  from  the  various  suggestions  of  experts  to  a future  meeting  of 
the  Governing  Body.  The  attention  of  the  latter  will  at  the  same  time 
be  drawn  to  the  resolution  which  recommends  the  insertion  of  the  question 
of  the  regulation  of  native  labor  conditions  on  the  agenda  of  a future 
Session  of  the  Conference. 


APPENDIX  II.  SLAVERY  AND  PEONAGE  LEGISLATION  IN 
THE  PHILIPPINES 

In  its  terms  the  13th  Amendment  which  applies  to  the  United  States 
or  any  place  subject  to  their  jurisdiction  applies  to  the  Philippine  Islands. 
It  has  been  applied  in  the  territory  of  Alaska.2  Professor  Willoughby 
believes  that  the  Amendment  applies  to  the  incorporated  as  well  as  to  the 
unincorporated  territories;3  Judge  Malcolm  of  the  Supreme  Court  of  the 
Philippine  Islands  entertains  the  same  view.4 

Legislation  for  the  Philippine  Islands  has  from  the  beginning  of  the 
American  occupation  incorporated  the  provisions  of  the  13th  Amend- 
ment as  part  of  the  fundamental  law  of  the  territory.  In  the  President’s 
instructions  to  the  Philippine  Commission,  he  ordained  “that  neither 
slavery  nor  involuntary  servitude  shall  exist  except  as  a punishment  for 
crime,”  the  Philippine  Act,  July  1,  1902,  section  5,  paragraph  12,  provides 
"that  neither  slavery  nor  involuntary  servitude,  except  as  a punishment 
for  crime  whereof  the  party  shall  have  been  duly  convicted,  shall  exist 
in  said  Islands;”  and  this  revision  was  re-enacted  in  the  Jones  Act  granting 
autonomy.5  The  Jones  Act  also  provides  (Sec.  28,  last  proviso)  that  it 
shall  be  unlawful  for  any  person,  company  or  corporation  receiving  any 
grant,  franchise,  or  concession  from  the  Government  of  the  Islands,  to 
use,  employ  or  contract  for  the  labor  of  persons  held  in  involuntary  servi- 

2 In  re  Sah  Quah,  31  Fed.  39. 

3 Willoughby  on  the  Constitution,  Vol.  1,  p.  442. 

4 Malcolm,  Philippine  Constitutional  Law  (2nd  ed.  1926)  p.  213,  432.  Rubi  v.  Provincial 
Board  of  Mindoro  (1919),  39  Phil.  Rep.  660,  p.  707. 

6 (1916)  31  Stat.  54s. 


C 35  3 


34 


tude,  and  makes  the  penalty  for  a violation  of  the  provision  the  forfeiture 
of  all  charters,  grants,  or  franchises  for  doing  business  in  the  Islands  and 
a fine  of  not  more  than  $ 10,000. 

The  pertinent  legislation  of  the  Islands  concerning  contracts  of  hire 
is  found  in  the  Civil  Code,  Title  II,  Art.  1255,  Title  VI,  Ch.  Ill,  Art. 
1583.  1584,  and  1585,  Art.  1255.  It  provides  that  contracting  parties 
may  establish  any  agreements,  terms,  and  conditions  they  may  deem 
advisable  provided  they  are  not  contrary  to  law,  morals,  or  public  order, 
and  Art.  1583  makes  a hiring  for  life  void.  An  agreement  to  work  out  a 
debt  is  therefore  unenforcible.6  Act.  No.  2098  (1912)  of  the  Philippine 
Legislature  provides  that  “Any  person  who  with  intent  to  injure  or  de- 
fraud his  employer,  enters  into  a contract  for  the  performance  of  any 
act  of  personal  service,  and  thereby  obtains  money  or  other  personal 
property  from  such  employer  as  a gratuity  or  advance  on  wages  to  be 
earned  under  such  contract  of  employment  and  without  just  cause,  and 
without  refunding  such  money  or  paying  for  such  property,  refuses  or  fails 
to  perform  such  act  of  service,  shall  on  conviction  thereof  be  punished  by  a 
fine  of  not  more  than  two  hundred  pesos,  or  imprisonment  for  not  more  than 
six  months,  or  with  both  penalties.”  This  statute  as  it  stands  may  be  a 
method  of  enforcing  peonage  in  the  Islands.  Everything  depends  on  its 
administration  by  the  executive  arm  and  by  the  courts,  especially  the  lower 
courts.  If  the  rule  as  laid  down  by  the  Supreme  Court  of  the  Philippines  is 
strictly  followed  by  the  lower  courts,  there  will  be  no  danger  from  this 
source.  That  court  applying  Act  No.  2098,  has  decided  that  the  intent  to 
defraud  must  be  proven  by  the  prosecutor,7  and  in  another  case  set  aside  a 
conviction  in  a municipal  court  on  the  ground  that  satisfactory  evidence  of 
criminal  intent  was  not  offered.8 

In  another  connection  it  has  condemned  peonage,  declaring  that  im- 
prisonment for  debts  is  contrary  to  the  organic  law  of  the  Archipelago 
so  that  a statute  authorizing  it  would  be  unenforceable.9 

By  Act  2300  (1913)  the  Philippine  Legislature  adopted  with  necessary 
modifications,  Sections  269,  270,  and  271  of  the  United  States  Criminal 
Code.  These  sections  punish  as  crimes  slavery,  involuntary  servitude,  and 
peonage.  Peonage  is  not  defined  in  the  law,  but  the  definition  given  by 
the  United  States  Supreme  Court  of  the  corresponding  federal  statute, 
would  probably  apply:  “Peonage  is  a term  descriptive  of  a condition 
that  has  existed  in  Spanish  America  and  especially  in  Mexico.  The  es- 
sence of  the  thing  is  compulsory  service  in  payment  of  a debt.  A peon  is 
one  who  is  compelled  to  work  for  his  creditor  until  the  debt  is  paid.”10 

• De  los  Reyes  v.  Alojado,  16  Phil.  499. 

1 Ramores  v.  De  Arozco,  34  Phil.  Rep.  412. 

« U.  S.  V.  Beltran,  41  Phil.  Rep.  922.  See  People  v.  Espino.  47  Phil.  Rep.  977.  on  proof 

8 Ganaway  v.  Quillen,  42  Phil.  Rep.  803.  See  also  Freeman  v.  U.  S.,  40  Phil.  Rep.  1039. 

10  Bailey  v.  Alabama,  219  U.  S.  219,  p.  241. 

[36] 


35 


This  statute  the  Commission  extended  to  the  territories  not  under  the 
jurisdiction  of  the  Legislature  by  Act  2399.  This  statute  emphasizes  the 
importance  of  sympathetic  administration  by  the  Court  if  it  is  to  have 
effect.  It  provides  a maximum  but  no  minimum  penalty  so  that  offenders 
can  be  convicted  but  escape  with  a nominal  punishment. 

Judge  Malcolm  says  that  the  prohibition  against  slavery  and  the 
Peonage  Act  do  not  apply  to  the  ordinary  case  of  restraint  of  personal 
liberty  such  as  the  obligation  of  a child  to  its  parents,  or  of  any  apprentice 
to  his  master,  nor  is  the  prohibition  violated  by  the  compulsory  require- 
ment of  labor  upon  the  public  highways,  to  be  found  in  the  Philippine 
law.11  Confinement  of  non- Christians  in  reservations  by  the  government 
in  order  to  promote  the  education  and  welfare  of  the  natives  has  been  held 
not  to  constitute  involuntary  servitude.12 


APPENDIX  III.  REPLY  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES 
GOVERNMENT  TO  THE  INVITATION  TO  COMMENT 
ON  THE  DRAFT  CONVENTION  ON  SLAVERY,  ADOPTED 
BY  THE  ASSEMBLY  OF  THE  LEAGUE  OF  NATIONS 
IN  SEPTEMBER,  1925 

The  reply  of  the  United  States  Government  to  the  invitation  to  com- 
ment on  the  Draft  Convention  on  Slavery,  adopted  by  the  Assembly  of 
the  League  of  Nations  in  September,  1925,  was  as  follows: 

The  Secretary  of  State  of  the  United  States  of  America  received, 
with  appreciation,  the  communication  of  the  Secretary-General  of 
the  League  of  Nations,  dated  October  12,  1925,  enclosing  a Draft 
Convention  on  the  Question  of  Slavery  and  requesting  that  the 
United  States  furnish  any  observations  it  might  care  to  make  on  the 
provisions  of  the  draft.  While  the  Secretary  of  State  is  not  in  a posi- 
tion at  this  time  to  make  any  detailed  contribution  to  a study  of  this 
subject,  he  is  pleased  to  inform  the  Secretary-General  that  slavery 
and  the  slave  trade  are  prohibited  under  the  fundamental  laws  of 
the  United  States  and  by  the  laws  and  statutes  in  force  in  its  several 
possessions.  The  Government  of  the  United  States  is,  furthermore, 
in  accord  with  its  traditional  policy,  deeply  interested  in  any  move- 
ment which  looks  towards  the  abolishment  of  all  forms  of  involun- 
tary servitude. 


APPENDIX  IV.  PROHIBITION  OF  SLAVE  TRADE  AND 
FORCED  LABOR  IN  COUNTRIES  HOLDING  THE  MANDATES 
UNDER  THE  LEAGUE  OF  NATIONS 

The  countries  holding  mandates  under  Article  22  of  the  Covenant  of 
the  League  of  Nations  are  bound  to  prohibit  slave  trade  and  forced  labor. 

11  See  Malcolm,  Philippine  Constitutional  Law,  p.  436. 

12  Rubi  v.  Provincial  Board  of  Mindora,  supra. 

[37] 


36 


The  provisions  in  various  mandates  are  generally  identical  and  expressed 
in  the  language  of  Article  5 of  the  Mandates  given  to  Great  Britain  for 
the  former  German  East  Africa. 

The  Mandatory: 

1.  Shall  provide  for  the  eventual  emancipation  of  all  slaves  and  for 
as  speedy  an  elimination  of  domestic  and  other  slavery  as  social 
conditions  will  allow; 

2.  Shall  suppress  all  forms  of  slave  trade; 

3.  Shall  prohibit  all  forms  of  forced  or  compulsory  labor,  except 
for  essential  public  works  and  services,  and  then  only  in  return 
for  adequate  remuneration; 

4.  Shall  protect  the  natives  from  abuse  and  measures  of  fraud  and 
force  by  the  careful  supervision  of  labor  contracts  and  the  re- 
cruiting of  labor; 

5.  Shall  exercise  a strict  control  over  the  traffic  in  arms  and  ammuni- 
tion and  the  sale  of  spirituous  liquors. 

APPENDIX  V.  GENERAL  ACT  FOR  THE  REPRESSION  OF 
AFRICAN  SLAVE  TRADE 

Signed  July  2,  1890;  ratification  advised  by  the  Senate  January  II, 
1892;  ratified  by  the  President  January  19,  1892;  ratification  deposited 
with  Belgian  Government  February  2,  1892;  proclaimed  April  2,  1892. 

(The  original  of  this  treaty  is  in  the  French  language  and  the  text  here  given  i9  from 
the  translation  submitted  to  the  Senate  and  attached  to  the  proclamation.) 


Articles 


Chapter  I.  Slave  Trade  Countries.  Measures  to  be 
Taken  in  the  Places  of  Origin 


I.  Measures  to  counteract 
slave  trade. 

II.  Duties  of  stations,  cruisers, 
and  posts. 

III.  Support  of  powers. 

IV.  National  associations. 

V.  Legislation  to  be  enacted. 

VI.  Return  of  liberated  slaves. 

VII.  Protection  of  fugitive  slaves. 

VIII.  Importation  of  firearms 
prohibited. 


IX.  Regulations  for  use  of  fire- 
arms. 

X.  Transit  of  arms  and  ammu- 
nition. 

XI.  Information  to  be  fur- 
nished. 

XII.  Legislation  to  punish  of- 
fenders. 

XIII.  Prevention  of  introduction 

of  firearms. 

XIV.  Duration  of  firearms  pro- 

visions. 


[38] 


37 


Chapter  II.  Caravan  Routes  and  Transportation  of 
Slaves  by  Land 

XV.  Stoppage  of  convoys.  XVIII.  Care  of  liberated  slaves. 

XVI.  Posts  on  caravan  routes.  XIX.  Punishments. 

XVII.  Prevention  of  sales,  etc. 


Chapter  III.  Repression  of  Slave  Trade  by  Sea 
section  i.  general  provisions 


XX.  Agreement  of  powers. 

XXI.  Maritime  zone. 

XXII.  Right  of  search,  etc. 
XXIII.  Vessels  liable  to  search, 
etc. 

XXIV.  Effect  of  present  con- 
ventions. 

XXV.  Unlawful  use  of  flag. 


XXVI.  Exchange  of  informa- 
tion. 

XXVII.  International  Bureau  at 
Zanzibar. 

XXVIII.  Slaves  escaping  to  ships 
of  war. 

XXIX.  Release  of  slaves  on  na- 
tive vessels. 


section  ii.  regulations  concerning  the  use  of  the  flags 
and  supervision  by  cruisers 

i.  Rules  for  Granting  the  Flag  to  Native  Vessels,  and  as  to 
Crew  Lists  and  Manifests  of  Black  Passengers  on  Board 


XXX.  Control  over  native 
vessels. 

XXXI.  Definition  of  native 
vessels. 

XXXII.  Native  vessels  which 
may  carry  flag. 

XXXIII.  Renewal  of  authority. 

XXXIV.  Act  of  authority. 

XXXV.  Crew  lists. 


XXXVI.  Carriage  of  negro  pas- 
sengers. 

XXXVII.  Entry  of  vessels. 

XXXVIII.  Negro  passengers  not 
allowed  on  native 
vessels. 

XXXIX.  Vessels  excepted. 

XL.  Forfeiture  of  license. 

XLI.  Forms  to  be  issued. 


2.  The  Stopping  of  Suspected  Vessels 


XLII.  Examination  of  papers. 
XL1II.  Boarding. 

XLIV.  Papers  to  be  examined. 
XLV.  Examination  of  cargo. 
XLVI.  Minute  of  boarding  of- 
ficer. 


XLVII.  Report  of  detentions. 
XLVIII.  Communication  to  In- 
ternational Bureau. 
XLIX.  Disposal  of  seized  ves- 
sels. 


[39] 


38 


3.  Of  the  Examination  and  Trial  of  Vessels  Seized 


L.  Trials. 

LI.  Disposal  of  arrested  ves- 
sels. 

LII.  Result  of  condemnation. 

LIII.  Indemnity  for  illegal  ar- 
rests. 

LIV.  Arbitration  of  disputed 
decisions. 

LV.  Choice  of  arbitrators. 


LVI.  Trials. 

LVII.  Summary  proceedings. 
LVI  1 1.  Release  of  innocent  ves- 
sels; damages. 

LIX.  Penalties. 

LX.  Special  tribunals. 

LXI.  Communication  of  instruc- 
tions. 


Chapter  IV.  Countries  to  Which  Slaves  are  Sent,  Whose  Institu- 
tions Recognize  the  Existence  of  Domestic  Slavery 


LXII.  Prohibition  of  slave 
trade. 

LXI II.  Disposition  of  liberated 
slaves. 

LXIV.  Freedom  of  fugitive 
slaves. 

LXV.  Sales  declared  void. 

LXVI.  Examination  of  native 
vessels. 

LXVII.  Penal  punishments. 


LX VIII.  Turkish  law. 

LXIX.  Assistance  by  Shah  of 
Persia. 

LXX.  Assistance  by  Sultan  of 
Zanzibar. 

LXXI.  Assistance  of  diplomatic 
and  consular  officers. 
LXXII.  Liberation  office. 
LXXIII.  Exchange  of  statistics. 


Chapter  V.  Institutions  Intended  to  Insure  the  Execution  of  the 

General  Act 


SECTION  I.  OF  THE  INTERNATIONAL  MARITIME  OFFICE 


LXXIV.  International  office  at 
Zanzibar. 

LXXV.  Organization. 

LXX VI.  Expenses. 


LXX VII.  Objects. 

LXXVIII.  Archives;  translations. 
LXXIX.  Branch  Offices. 
LXXX.  Annual  reports. 


SECTION  II.  OF  THE  EXCHANGE  BETWEEN  THE  GOVERNMENTS  OF  DOCUMENTS 
AND  INFORMATION  RELATIVE  TO  THE  SLAVE  TRADE 


LXXXI.  Exchange  of  informa- 
tion. 

LXXXII.  Central  exchange  of- 
fice. 


LXXXIII.  Reports  from  Zanzi- 
bar office. 

LXXXIV.  Publications. 
LXXXV.  Expenses. 


[40] 


39 


SECTION  III.  OF  THE  PROTECTION  OF  LIBERATED  SLAVES 


LXXXVI.  Offices  for  liberating 
slaves. 

LXXXVII.  Registry  of  releases. 


LXXXVI  1 1.  Refuge  for  women 
and  children. 

LXXXIX.  Protection  of  freed 
slaves. 


Chapter  VI.  Measures  to  Restrict  the  Traffic  in  Spirituous 

Liquors 


XC.  Prohibited  zone. 

XCI.  Prohibition  of  importa- 
tion and  manufacture. 
XCII.  Import  duty  in  certain 
localities. 


XCI II.  Excise  duty. 

XCIV.  Prevention  of  introduc- 
tion of  liquors. 

XCV.  Information  to  be  com- 
municated. 


Chapter  VII.  Final  Provisions 


XCVI.  Contrary  stipulations 
repealed. 

XCVII.  Modifications. 
XCVIII.  Adhesion  of  Powers. 


XCIX.  Ratification. 
C.  Duration. 
Protocol. 


[Translation.] 


In  the  Name  of  God  Almighty. 

The  President  of  the  United  States  of  America; 

His  Majesty  the  German  Emperor,  King  of  Prussia,  in  the  name  of  the 
German  Empire; 

His  Majesty  the  Emperor  of  Austria,  King  of  Bohemia,  &c.,  and  Apos- 
tolic King  of  Hungary; 

His  Majesty  the  King  of  the  Belgians; 

His  Majesty  the  King  of  Denmark; 

His  Majesty  the  King  of  Spain,  and  in  His  Name  Her  Majesty  the 
Queen  Regent  of  the  Kingdom; 

His  Majesty  the  Sovereign  of  the  Independent  State  of  the  Congo; 

The  President  of  the  French  Republic; 

Her  Majesty  the  Queen  of  the  United  Kingdom  of  Great  Britain  and 
Ireland,  Empress  of  India; 

His  Majesty  the  King  of  Italy; 

His  Majesty  the  King  of  the  Netherlands,  Grand  Duke  of  Luxemburg; 
His  Majesty  the  Shah  of  Persia; 

His  Majesty  the  King  of  Portugal  and  the  Algarves,  &c.; 

[41  ] 


40 


His  Majesty  the  Emperor  of  all  the  Russias; 

His  Majesty  the  King  of  Sweden  and  Norway,  &c. ; 

His  Majesty  the  Emperor  of  the  Ottomans;  and 
His  Highness  the  Sultan  of  Zanzibar; 

Being  equally  actuated  by  the  firm  intention  of  putting  an  end  to  the 
crimes  and  devastations  engendered  by  the  traffic  in  African  slaves,  of 
efficiently  protecting  the  aboriginal  population  of  Africa,  and  of  securing 
for  that  vast  continent  the  benefits  of  peace  and  civilization; 

Wishing  to  give  fresh  sanction  to  the  decisions  already  adopted  in  the 
same  sense  and  at  different  times  by  the  powers,  to  complete  the  results 
secured  by  them,  and  to  draw  up  a body  of  measures  guaranteeing  the 
accomplishment  of  the  work  which  is  the  object  of  their  common  solicitude; 

Have  resolved,  in  pursuance  of  the  invitation  addressed  to  them  by  the 
Government  of  His  Majesty  the  King  of  the  Belgians,  in  agreement  with 
the  Government  of  Her  Majesty  the  Queen  of  Great  Britain  and  Ireland, 
Empress  of  India,  to  convene  for  this  purpose  a conference  at  Brussels, 
and  have  named  as  their  plenipotentiaries: 

The  President  of  the  United  States  of  America, 

Mr.  Edwin  H.  Terrell,  Envoy  Extraordinary  and  Minister  Plenipoten- 
tiary of  the  United  States  of  America  near  His  Majesty  the  King  of  the 
Belgians,  and 

Mr.  Henry  Shelton  Sanford; 

His  Majesty  the  Emperor  of  Germany,  King  of  Prussia,  in  the  Name 
of  the  German  Empire, 

Frederic  John,  Count  of  Alvensleben,  His  Chamberlain  and  Actual  Privy 
Councillor,  His  Envoy  Extraordinary  and  Minister  Plenipotentiary 
near  His  Majesty  the  King  of  the  Belgians,  and 
Mr.  William  Goehring,  His  Privy  Councillor  of  Legation,  Consul-General 
of  the  German  Empire  at  Amsterdam; 

His  Majesty  the  Emperor  of  Austria,  King  of  Bohemia  and  Apos- 
tolic King  of  Hungary, 

Rodolphe  Count  Khevenhiiller-Metsch,  His  Chamberlain,  His  Envoy 
Extraordinary  and  Minister  Plenipotentiary  near  His  Majesty  the 
King  of  the  Belgians; 

His  Majesty  the  King  of  the  Belgians, 

Auguste  Baron  Lambermont,  His  Minister  of  State,  His  Envoy  Extra- 
ordinary and  Minister  Plenipotentiary,  and 
M.  Emile  Banning,  Director-General  in  the  Department  of  Foreign 
Affairs  of  Belgium; 

His  Majesty  the  King  of  Denmark, 

Mr.  Frederic-George  Schack  de  Brockdorff,  Consul-General  of  Denmark, 
at  Antwerp; 


[42  J 


41 

His  Majesty  the  King  of  Spain,  and  in  His  Name  Her  Majesty  the 
Queen  Regent  of  the  Kingdom, 

Don  Jose  Gutierrez  de  Agiiera,  His  Envoy  Extraordinary  and  Minister 
Plenipotentiary  near  His  Majesty  the  King  of  the  Belgians; 

His  Majesty  the  Sovereign-King  of  the  Independent  State  of  the 
Congo, 

Mr.  Edmund  Van  Eetvelde,  Administrator-General  of  the  Department 
of  Foreign  Affairs  of  the  Independent  State  of  the  Congo  and 
Mr.  Auguste  Van  Maldeghem,  Councillor  in  the  Belgian  Court  of  Cas- 
sation; 

The  President  of  the  French  Republic, 

M.  Albert  Bouree,  Envoy  Extraordinary  and  Minister  Plenipotentiary 
of  the  French  Republic  near  His  Majesty  the  King  of  the  Belgians,  and 
M.  George  Cogordan,  Minister  Plenipotentiary,  Director  of  the  Office  of 
the  Minister  of  Foreign  Affairs  of  France; 

Her  Majesty  the  Queen  of  the  United  Kingdom  of  Great  Britain 
and  Ireland,  Empress  of  India, 

Lord  Vivian,  Peer  of  the  United  Kingdom,  Her  Envoy  Extraordinary 
and  Minister  Plenipotentiary  near  His  Majesty  the  King  of  the  Bel- 
gians, and 
Sir  John  Kirk; 

His  Majesty  the  King  of  Italy, 

Francis  de  Renzis,  Baron  of  Montanaro,  His  Envoy  Extraordinary  and 
Minister  Plenipotentiary  near  His  Majesty  the  King  of  the  Belgians, 
and 

Mr.  Thomas  Catalani,  His  Envoy  Extraordinary  and  Minister  Pleni- 
potentiary; 

His  Majesty  the  King  of  the  Netherlands,  Grand  Duke  of  Luxem- 
burg, 

Louis  Baron  Gericke  de  Herwynen,  His  Envoy  Extraordinary  and  Mini- 
ster Plenipotentiary  near  His  Majesty  the  King  of  the  Belgians; 

His  Imperial  Majesty  the  Shah  of  Persia, 

General  Nazare  Aga,  His  Envoy  Extraordinary  and  Minister  Plenipo- 
tentiary near  His  Majesty  the  King  of  the  Belgians; 

His  Majesty  the  King  of  Portugal  and  of  the  Algarves, 

Mr.  Henrique  de  Macedo  Pereira  Coutinho,  Member  of  His  Council, 
Peer  of  the  Kingdom,  Minister  and  Honorary  Secretary  of  State,  His 
Envoy  Extraordinary  and  Minister  Plenipotentiary  near  His  Majesty 
the  King  of  the  Belgians; 

His  Majesty  the  Emperor  of  All  the  Russias, 

Leon  Prince  Ouroussoff,  Master  of  His  Court,  His  Envoy  Extraordinary 
and  Minister  Plenipoteniary  near  His  Majesty  the  King  of  the  Bel- 
gians, and 


[43] 


4 2 


Mr.  Frederic  de  Martens,  His  Actual  Councillor  of  State,  Permanent 
Member  of  the  Council  of  Foreign  Affairs  of  Russia; 

His  Majesty  the  King  of  Sweden  and  Norway, 

Mr.  Charles  de  Burenstam,  His  Chamberlain,  His  Minister  Plenipo- 
tentiary near  His  Majesty  the  King  of  the  Belgians  and  near  His 
Majesty  the  King  of  the  Netherlands, 

His  Majesty  the  Emperor  of  the  Ottomans, 

Etienne  Caratheodory  Efendi,  High  Dignitary  of  His  Empire,  His 
Envoy  Extraordinary  and  Minister  Plenipotentiary  near  His  Majesty 
the  King  of  the  Belgians; 

His  Highness  the  Sultan  of  Zanzibar, 

Sir  John  Kirk,  and 

Mr.  William  Goehring; 

Who,  being  furnished  with  full  powers,  which  have  been  found  to  be  in 
good  and  due  form,  have  adopted  the  following  provisions: 

Chapter  I.  Slave  Trade  Countries. — Measures 
to  Be  Taken  in  the  Places  of  Origin 

Article  I 

The  powers  declare  that  the  most  effective  means  of  counteracting  the 
slave  trade  in  the  interior  of  Africa  are  the  following: 

1.  Progressive  organization  of  the  administrative,  judicial,  religious, 
and  military  services  in  the  African  territories  placed  under  the  sovereignty 
or  protectorate  of  civilized  nations. 

2.  The  gradual  establishment  in  the  interior,  by  the  powers  to  which  the 
territories  are  subject,  of  strongly  occupied  stations,  in  such  a way  as  to 
make  their  protective  or  repressive  action  effectively  felt  in  the  territories 
devastated  by  slave  hunting. 

3.  The  construction  of  roads,  and  in  particular  of  railways,  connecting 
the  advanced  stations  with  the  coast,  and  permitting  easy  access  to  the 
inland  waters,  and  to  such  of  the  upper  courses  of  the  rivers  and  streams 
as  are  broken  by  rapids  and  cataracts,  with  a view  to  substituting  economi- 
cal and  rapid  means  of  transportation  for  the  present  system  of  carriage 
by  men. 

4.  Establishment  of  steamboats  on  the  inland  navigable  waters  and  on 
the  lakes,  supported  by  fortified  posts  established  on  the  banks. 

5.  Establishment  of  telegraphic  lines,  insuring  the  communication  of 
the  posts  and  stations  with  the  coast  and  with  the  administrative  centers. 

6.  Organization  of  expeditions  and  flying  columns,  to  keep  up  the 
communication  of  the  stations  with  each  other  and  with  the  coast  to  support 
repressive  action,  and  to  insure  the  security  of  high  roads. 

[44] 


43 


7.  Restriction  of  the  importation  of  firearms,  at  least  of  those  of  modern 
pattern,  and  of  ammunition  throughout  the  entire  extent  of  the  territory 
in  which  the  slave  trade  is  carried  on. 

Article  II 

The  stations,  the  inland  cruisers  organized  by  each  power  in  its  waters, 
and  the  posts  which  serve  as  ports  of  register  for  them  shall,  independently 
of  their  principal  task,  which  is  to  prevent  the  capture  of  slaves  and  inter- 
cept the  routes  of  the  slave  trade,  have  the  following  subsidiary  duties: 

X.  To  support  and,  if  necessary,  to  serve  as  a refuge  for  the  native 
population,  whether  placed  under  the  sovereignty  or  the  protectorate  of 
the  State  to  which  the  station  is  subject,  or  independent,  and  temporarily 
for  all  other  natives  in  case  of  imminent  danger;  to  place  the  population 
of  the  first  of  these  categories  in  a position  to  cooperate  for  their  own  de- 
fense; to  diminish  intestine  wars  between  tribes  by  means  of  arbitration; 
to  initiate  them  in  agricultural  labor  and  in  the  industrial  arts  so  as  to 
increase  their  welfare;  to  raise  them  to  civilization  and  bring  about  the 
extinction  of  barbarous  customs,  such  as  cannibalism,  and  human  sacrifices. 

2.  To  give  aid  and  protection  to  commercial  enterprises;  to  watch  over 
their  legality  by  especially  controlling  contracts  for  service  with  natives, 
and  to  prepare  the  way  for  the  foundation  of  permanent  centers  ofcultiva- 
tion  and  of  commercial  settlements. 

3.  To  protect,  without  distinction  of  creed,  the  missions  which  are 
already  or  that  may  hereafter  be  established. 

4.  To  provide  for  the  sanitary  service  and  to  extend  hospitality  and 
help  to  explorers  and  to  all  who  take  part  in  Africa  in  the  work  of  re- 
pressing the  slave  trade. 

Article  III 

The  powers  exercising  a sovereignty  or  a protectorate  in  Africa  confirm 
and  give  precision  to  their  former  declarations,  and  engage  to  proceed 
gradually,  as  circumstances  may  permit,  either  by  the  means  above  indi- 
cated, or  by  any  other  means  that  they  may  consider  suitable,  with  the 
repression  of  the  slave  trade,  each  State  in  its  respective  possessions  and 
under  its  own  direction.  Whenever  they  consider  it  possible,  they  shall 
lend  their  good  offices  to  such  powers  as,  with  a purely  humanitarian  object, 
may  be  engaged  in  Africa  in  the  fulfillment  of  a similar  mission. 

Article  IV 

The  States  exercising  sovereign  powers  or  protectorates  in  Africa  may  in 
all  cases  delegate  to  companies  provided  with  charters  all  or  a portion  of  the 
engagements  which  they  assume  in  virtue  of  Article  III.  They  remain, 

[45] 


44 


nevertheless,  directly  responsible  for  the  engagements  which  they  contract 
by  the  present  act,  and  guarantee  the  execution  thereof.  The  powers 
promise  to  encourage,  aid,  and  protect  such  national  associations  and 
enterprises  due  to  private  initiative  as  may  wish  to  cooperate  in  their 
possessions  in  the  repression  of  the  slave  trade,  subject  to  their  receiving 
previous  authorization,  such  authorization  being  revokable  at  any  time, 
subject  also  to  their  being  directed  and  controlled,  and  to  the  exclusion 
of  the  exercise  of  rights  of  sovereignty. 

Article  V 

The  contracting  powers  pledge  themselves,  unless  this  has  already  been 
provided  for  by  laws  in  accordance  with  the  spirit  of  the  present  article,  to 
enact  or  propose  to  their  respective  legislative  bodies,  in  the  course  of  one 
year  at  the  latest  from  the  date  of  the  signing  of  the  present  general  act,  a 
law  rendering  applicable,  on  the  one  hand,  the  provisions  of  their  penal 
laws  concerning  grave  offenses  against  the  person,  to  the  organizers  and 
abettors  of  slave  hunting,  to  those  guilty  of  mutilating  male  adults  and 
children,  and  to  all  persons  taking  part  in  the  capture  of  slaves  by  violence; 
and,  on  the  other  hand,  the  provisions  relating  to  offenses  against  individual 
liberty,  to  carriers  and  transporters  of,  and  to  dealers  in,  slaves. 

The  accessories  and  accomplices  of  the  different  categories  of  slave  captors 
and  dealers  above  specified  shall  be  punished  with  penalties  proportionate 
to  those  incurred  by  the  principals. 

Guilty  persons  who  may  have  escaped  from  the  jurisdiction  of  the 
authorities  of  the  country  where  the  crimes  or  offenses  have  been  committed 
shall  be  arrested  either  on  communication  of  the  incriminating  evidence  by 
the  authorities  who  have  ascertained  the  violation  of  the  law,  or  on  produc- 
tion of  any  other  proof  of  guilt  by  the  power  in  whose  territory  they  may 
have  been  discovered,  and  shall  be  kept,  without  other  formality,  at  the 
disposal  of  the  tribunals  competent  to  try  them. 

The  powers  shall  communicate  to  one  another,  with  the  least  possible 
delay,  the  laws  or  decrees  existing  or  promulgated  in  execution  of  the 
present  article. 

Article  VI 

Slaves  liberated  in  consequence  of  the  stoppage  of  dispersion  of  a convoy 
in  the  interior  of  the  continent,  shall  be  sent  back,  if  circumstances  permit, 
to  their  country  of  origin;  if  not,  the  local  authorities  shall  facilitate,  as 
much  as  possible,  their  means  of  living,  and  if  they  desire  it,  help  them  to 
settle  on  the  spot. 

Article  VII 

Any  fugitive  slave  claiming,  on  the  continent,  the  protection  of  the 
signatory  powers,  shall  receive  it,  and  shall  be  received  in  the  camps  and 

[46  ] 


45 


stations  officially  established  by  said  powers,  or  on  board  of  the  vessels  of 
the  State  plying  on  the  lakes  and  rivers.  Private  stations  and  boats  are 
only  permitted  to  exercise  the  right  of  asylum  subject  to  the  previous 
consent  of  the  State. 

Article  VIII 

The  experience  of  all  nations  that  have  intercourse  with  Africa  having 
shown  the  pernicious  and  preponderating  part  played  by  firearms  in 
operations  connected  with  the  slave  trade  as  well  as  internal  wars  between 
the  native  tribes;  and  this  same  experience  having  clearly  proved  that  the 
preservation  of  the  African  population  whose  existence  it  is  the  express  wish 
of  the  powers  to  protect,  is  a radical  impossibility,  if  measures  restricting 
the  trade  in  firearms  and  ammunition  are  not  adopted,  the  powers  decide, 
so  far  as  the  present  state  of  their  frontiers  permits,  that  the  importation 
of  firearms,  and  especially  of  rifles  and  improved  weapons,  as  well  as  of 
powder,  ball  and  cartridges,  is,  except  in  the  cases  and  under  the  conditions 
provided  for  in  the  following  Article,  prohibited  in  the  territories  comprised 
between  the  20th  parallel  of  North  latitude  and  the  22d  parallel  of  South 
latitude,  and  extending  westward  to  the  Atlantic  Ocean  and  eastward  to 
the  Indian  Ocean  and  its  dependencies,  including  the  islands  adjacent  to  the 
coast  within  100  nautical  miles  from  the  shore. 

Article  IX 

The  introduction  of  firearms  and  ammunition,  when  there  shall  be  oc- 
casion to  authorize  it  in  the  possessions  of  the  signatory  powers  that  exer- 
cise rights  of  sovereignty  or  of  protectorate  in  Africa,  shall  be  regulated, 
unless  identical  or  stricter  regulations  have  already  been  enforced,  in  the 
following  manner  in  the  zone  defined  in  Article  VIII: 

All  imported  firearms  shall  be  deposited,  at  the  cost,  risk,  and  peril  of 
the  importers,  in  a public  warehouse  under  the  supervision  of  the  State 
government.  No  withdrawal  of  firearms  or  imported  ammunition  shall 
take  place  from  such  warehouses  without  the  previous  authorization  of 
the  said  government.  This  authorization  shall,  except  in  the  cases  herein- 
after specified,  be  refused  for  the  withdrawal  of  all  arms  for  accurate  firing, 
such  as  rifles,  magazine  guns,  or  breech-loaders,  whether  whole  or  in  de- 
tached pieces,  their  cartridges,  caps,  or  other  ammunition  intended  for 
them. 

In  seaports  and  under  conditions  affording  the  needful  guarantees,  the 
respective  governments  may  permit  private  warehouses  but  only  for  or- 
dinary powder  and  for  flint-lock  muskets,  and  to  the  exclusion  of  improved 
arms  and  ammunition  therefor. 

Independently  of  the  measures  directly  taken  by  governments  for  the 
arming  of  the  public  force  and  the  organization  of  their  defense,  individual 

[47] 


46 


exceptions  may  be  allowed  in  the  case  of  persons  furnishing  sufficient  guar- 
antees that  the  weapon  and  ammunition  delivered  to  them  shall  not  be 
given,  assigned,  or  sold  to  third  parties,  and  for  travelers  provided  with  a 
declaration  of  their  government  stating  that  the  weapon  and  ammunition 
are  intended  for  their  personal  defense  exclusively. 

All  arms,  in  the  cases  provided  for  in  the  preceding  paragraph,  shall  be 
registered  and  marked  by  the  supervising  authorities,  who  shall  deliver  to 
the  persons  in  question  permits  to  bear  arms,  stating  the  name  of  the  bearer 
and  showing  the  stamp  with  which  the  weapon  is  marked.  These  permits 
shall  be  revocable  in  case  proof  is  furnished  that  they  have  been  improperly 
used,  and  shall  be  issued  for  five  years  only,  but  may  be  renewed. 

The  above  rule  as  to  warehousing  shall  also  apply  to  gunpowder. 

Only  flint-lock  guns,  with  unrifled  barrels,  and  common  gunpowder 
known  as  trade  powder,  may  be  withdrawn  from  the  warehouses  for  sale. 
At  each  withdrawal  of  arms  and  ammunition  of  this  kind  for  sale,  the  local 
authorities  shall  determine  the  regions  in  which  such  arms  and  ammunition 
may  be  sold.  The  regions  in  which  the  slave  trade  is  carried  on  shall  al- 
ways be  excluded.  Persons  authorized  to  take  arms  or  powder  out  of  the 
public  warehouses,  shall  present  to  the  State  government,  every  six  months, 
detailed  lists  indicating  the  destinations  of  the  arms  and  powder  sold,  as 
well  as  the  quantities  still  remaining  in  the  warehouses. 

Article  X 

The  governments  shall  take  all  such  measures  as  they  may  deem  neces- 
sary to  insure  as  complete  a fulfillment  as  possible  of  the  provisions  respect- 
ing the  importation,  sale,  and  transportation  of  firearms  and  ammunition, 
as  well  as  to  prevent  either  the  entry  or  exit  thereof  via  their  inland  fron- 
tiers, or  the  passage  thereof  to  regions  where  the  slave  trade  is  rife. 

The  authorization  of  transit  within  the  limits  of  the  zone  specified  in 
Article  VIII  shall  not  be  withheld  when  the  arms  and  ammunition  are  to 
pass  across  the  territory  of  the  signatory  or  adherent  powrer  occupying  the 
coast,  towards  inland  territories  under  the  sovereignty  or  protectorate  of 
another  signatory  or  adherent  power,  unless  this  latter  power  have  direct 
access  to  the  sea  through  its  ow-n  territory.  If  this  access  be  w'holly  in- 
terrupted, the  authorization  of  transit  cannot  be  withheld.  Any  applica- 
tion for  transit  must  be  accompanied  by  a declaration  emanating  from  the 
government  of  the  power  having  the  inland  possessions,  and  certifying 
that  the  said  arms  and  ammunition  are  not  intended  for  sale,  but  are  for 
the  use  of  the  authorities  of  such  power,  or  of  the  military  forces  neces- 
sary for  the  protection  of  the  missionary  or  commercial  stations,  or  of 
persons  mentioned  by  name  in  the  declaration.  Nevertheless,  the  terri- 
torial power  of  the  coast  retains  the  right  to  stop,  exceptionally  and  pro- 
visionally, the  transit  of  improved  arms  and  ammunition  across  its  terri- 

[48] 


47 


tory,  if,  in  consequence  of  inland  disturbances  or  other  serious  danger,  there 
is  ground  for  fearing  lest  the  despatch  of  arms  and  ammunition  may  com- 
promise its  own  safety. 

Article  XI 

The  powers  shall  communicate  to  one  another  information  relating  to 
the  traffic  in  firearms  and  ammunition,  the  permits  granted,  and  the  meas- 
ures of  repression  in  force  in  their  respective  territories. 

Article  XII 

The  powers  engage  to  adopt  or  to  propose  to  their  respective  legislative 
bodies  the  measures  necessary  everywhere  to  secure  the  punishment  of 
infringers  of  the  prohibitions  contained  in  Articles  VIII  and  IX,  and  that 
of  their  accomplices,  besides  the  seizure  and  confiscation  of  the  prohibited 
arms  and  ammunition,  either  by  fine  or  imprisonment,  or  by  both  of  these 
penalties,  in  proportion  to  the  importance  of  the  infraction  and  in  accord- 
ance with  the  gravity  of  each  case. 

Article  XIII 

The  signatory  powers  that  have  possessions  in  Africa  in  contact  with 
the  zone  specified  in  Article  VIII,  bind  themselves  to  take  the  necessary 
measures  for  preventing  the  introduction  of  firearms  and  ammunition 
across  their  inland  frontiers  into  the  regions  of  said  zone,  at  least  that  of 
improved  arms  and  cartridges. 


Article  XIV 

The  system  stipulated  in  Articles  VIII  and  XIII,  shall  remain  in  force 
for  twelve  years.  In  case  none  of  the  contracting  parties  shall  have  given 
notice  twelve  months  before  the  expiration  of  this  period,  of  its  intention 
to  put  an  end  to  it,  or  shall  have  demanded  its  revision,  it  shall  remain 
obligatory  for  two  years  longer,  and  shall  thus  continue  in  force  from  two 
years  to  two  years. 

Chapter  II.  Caravan  Routes  and  Transportation  of 
Slaves  by  Land 

Article  XV 

Independently  of  the  repressive  or  protective  action  which  they  exercise 
in  the  centers  of  the  slave  trade,  it  shall  be  the  duty  of  the  stations,  cruisers, 
and  posts,  whose  establishment  is  provided  for  in  Article  II,  and  of  all  other 
stations  established  or  recognized  by  Article  IV,  by  each  government  in 
its  possessions,  to  watch,  so  far  as  circumstances  shall  permit,  and  in  pro- 

[49] 


48 


portion  to  the  progress  of  their  administrative  organization,  the  roads  trav- 
eled in  their  territory  by  slave  dealers,  to  stop  convoys  on  their  march, 
or  to  pursue  them  wherever  their  action  can  be  legally  exercised. 

Article  XVI 

In  the  regions  of  the  coasts  known  to  serve  habitually  as  places  of  pas- 
sage or  terminal  points  for  slave  traffic  coming  from  the  interior,  as  well 
as  at  the  points  of  intersection  of  the  principal  caravan  routes  crossing  the 
zone  contiguous  to  the  coast  already  subject  to  the  control  of  the  sovereign 
or  protective  powers,  posts  shall  be  established  under  the  conditions  and 
with  the  reservations  mentioned  in  Article  III,  by  the  authorities  to  which 
the  territories  are  subject,  for  the  purpose  of  intercepting  the  convoys  and 
liberating  the  slaves. 

Article  XVII 

A strict  watch  shall  be  organized  by  the  local  authorities  at  the  ports 
and  places  near  the  coast,  with  a view  to  preventing  the  sale  and  shipment 
of  slaves  brought  from  the  interior,  as  well  as  the  formation  and  departure 
landwards  of  bands  of  slave  hunters  and  dealers. 

Caravans  arriving  at  the  coast  or  in  its  vicinity,  as  well  as  those  arriving 
in  the  interior  at  a locality  occupied  by  the  territorial  power,  shall,  on 
their  arrival,  be  subjected  to  a minute  inspection  as  to  the  persons  com- 
posing them.  Any  such  person  being  ascertained  to  have  been  captured 
or  carried  off  by  force,  or  mutilated,  either  in  his  native  place  or  on  the 
way,  shall  be  set  free. 

Article  XVIII 

In  the  possessions  of  each  of  the  contracting  powers,  it  shall  be  the  duty 
of  the  government  to  protect  liberated  slaves,  to  return  them,  if  possible, 
to  their  country,  to  procure  means  of  subsistence  for  them  and,  in  particular, 
to  take  charge  of  the  education  and  subsequent  employment  of  abandoned 
children. 


Article  XIX 

The  penal  arrangements  provided  for  by  Article  V shall  be  applicable 
to  all  offenses  committed  in  the  course  of  operations  connected  with  the 
transportation  of  and  traffic  in  slaves  on  land  whenever  such  offenses  may 
be  ascertained  to  have  been  committed. 

Any  person  having  incurred  a penalty  in  consequence  of  an  offense 
provided  for  by  the  present  general  act,  shall  incur  the  obligation  of  fur- 
nishing security  before  being  able  to  engage  in  any  commercial  transac- 
tion in  countries  where  the  slave  trade  is  carried  on. 

[50] 


49 


Chapter  III.  Repression  of  the  Slave  Trade  by  Sea 

SECTION  I.  GENERAL  PROVISIONS 

Article  XX 

The  signatory  powers  recognize  the  desirability  of  taking  steps  in  com- 
mon for  the  more  effective  repression  of  the  slave  trade  in  the  maritime 
zone  in  which  it  still  exists. 


Article  XXI 

This  zone  extends,  on  the  one  hand,  between  the  coasts  of  the  Indian 
Ocean  (those  of  the  Persian  Gulf  and  of  the  Red  Sea  included),  from 
Beloochistan  to  Cape  Tangalane  (Quilimane);  and,  on  the  other  hand,  a 
conventional  line  which  first  follows  the  meridian  from  Tangalane  till  it 
intersects  the  26th  degree  of  South  latitude;  it  is  then  merged  in  this 
parallel,  then  passes  round  the  Island  of  Madagascar  by  the  east,  keeping 
20  miles  off  the  east  and  north  shore,  till  it  intersects  the  meridian  at  Cape 
Ambre.  From  this  point  the  limit  of  the  zone  is  determined  by  an  oblique 
line,  which  extends  to  the  coast  of  Beloochistan,  passing  20  miles  off  Cape 
Ras-el-Had. 


Article  XXII 

The  signatory  powers  of  the  present  general  act, — among  whom  exist 
special  conventions  for  the  suppression  of  the  slave  trade,  have  agreed  to 
restrict  the  clauses  of  those  conventions  concerning  the  reciprocal  right  of 
visit,  of  search,  and  of  seizure  of  vessels  at  sea,  to  the  above-mentioned 

zone. 

Article  XXIII 

The  same  powers  also  agree  to  limit  the  above-mentioned  right  to  vessels 
whose  tonnage  is  less  than  500  tons.  This  stipulation  shall  be  revised  as 
soon  as  experience  shall  have  shown  the  necessity  thereof. 

Article  XXIV 

All  other  provisions  of  the  conventions  concluded  for  the  suppression 
of  the  slave  trade  between  the  aforesaid  powers  shall  remain  in  force 
provided  they  are  not  modified  by  the  present  general  act. 

Article  XXV 

The  signatory  powers  engage  to  adopt  efficient  measures  to  prevent  the 
unlawful  use  of  their  flag,  and  to  prevent  the  transportation  of  slaves  on 
vessels  authorized  to  fly  their  colors. 

[51  ] 


50 


Article  XXVI 

The  signatory  powers  engage  to  adopt  all  measures  necessary  to  facilitate 
the  speedy  exchange  of  information  calculated  to  lead  to  the  discovery  of 
persons  taking  part  in  operations  connected  with  the  slave  trade. 

Article  XXVII 

At  least  one  international  bureau  shall  be  created;  it  shall  be  established 
at  Zanzibar.  The  high  contracting  parties  engage  to  forward  to  it  all  the 
documents  specified  in  Article  XLI,  as  well  as  all  information  of  any  kind 
likely  to  assist  in  the  suppression  of  the  slave  trade. 

Article  XXVIII 

Any  slave  who  has  taken  refuge  on  board  a ship  of  war  bearing  the  flag 
of  one  of  the  signatory  powers,  shall  be  immediately  and  definitively  set 
free.  Such  freedom,  however,  shall  not  withdraw  him  from  the  com- 
petent jurisdiction  if  he  has  been  guilty  of  any  crime  or  offense  at  common 
law. 

Article  XXIX 

Any  slave  detained  against  his  will  on  board  of  a native  vessel  shall  have 
the  right  to  demand  his  liberty.  His  release  may  be  ordered  by  any  agent 
of  any  of  the  signatory  powers  on  whom  the  present  general  act  confers  the 
right  of  ascertaining  the  status  of  persons  on  board  of  such  vessels,  al- 
though such  release  shall  not  withdraw  him  from  the  competent  jurisdic- 
tion if  he  has  committed  any  crime  or  offense  at  common  law. 

SECTION  II.  REGULATION  CONCERNING  THE  USE  OF  THE  FLAG  AND  SUPER- 
VISION BY  CRUISERS 

I.  Rules  for  Granting  the  Flag  to  Native  Vessels,  and  as  to  Crew 
Lists  and  Manifests  of  Black  Passengers  on  Board 

Article  XXX 

The  signatory  powers  engage  to  exercise  a strict  surveillance  over  native 
vessels  authorized  to  carry  their  flag  in  the  zone  mentioned  in  Article  XXI, 
and  over  the  commercial  operations  carried  on  by  such  vessels. 

Article  XXXI 

The  term  "native  vessel”  applies  to  vessels  fulfilling  one  of  the  following 
conditions: 

1.  It  shall  present  the  outward  appearance  of  native  build  or  rigging. 

2.  It  shall  be  manned  by  a crew  of  whom  the  captain  and  a majority  of 

[52] 


5i 

the  seamen  belong  by  origin  to  one  of  the  countries  on  the  coast  of  the 
Indian  Ocean,  the  Red  Sea,  or  the  Persian  Gulf. 

Article  XXXII 

The  authorization  to  carry  the  flag  of  one  of  the  said  powers  shall  in 
future  be  granted  only  to  such  native  vessels  as  shall  satisfy  at  the  same 
time  the  three  following  conditions: 

1.  Fitters-out  or  owners  of  ships  must  be  either  subjects  of  or  persons 
protected  by  the  power  whose  flag  they  ask  to  carry. 

2.  They  shall  be  obliged  to  prove  that  they  possess  real  estate  situated 
in  the  district  of  the  authority  to  whom  their  application  is  addressed, 
or  to  furnish  bona  fide  security  as  a guaranty  of  the  payment  of  such  fines 
as  may  be  incurred. 

3.  The  above-named  fitters-out  or  owners  of  ships,  as  well  as  the  cap- 
tain of  the  vessel,  shall  prove  that  they  enjoy  a good  reputation,  and  that 
in  particular  they  have  never  been  sentenced  to  punishment  for  acts  con- 
nected with  the  slave  trade. 

Article  XXXIII 

This  authorization  granted  shall  be  renewed  every  year.  It  may  at 
any  time  be  suspended  or  withdrawn  by  the  authorities  of  the  power 
whose  colors  the  vessel  carries. 

Article  XXXIV 

The  act  of  authorization  shall  contain  the  statements  necessary  to 
establish  the  identity  of  the  vessel.  The  captain  shall  have  the  keeping 
thereof.  The  name  of  the  native  vessel  and  the  amount  of  its  tonnage 
shall  be  cut  and  painted  in  Latin  characters  on  the  stern,  and  the  initial 
or  initials  of  the  name  of  the  port  of  registry,  as  well  as  the  registration 
number  in  the  series  of  the  numbers  of  that  port,  shall  be  printed  in  black 
on  the  sails. 

Article  XXXV 

A list  of  the  crew  shall  be  issued  to  the  captain  of  the  vessel  at  the  port 
of  departure  by  the  authorities  of  the  power  whose  colors  it  carries.  It 
shall  be  renewed  at  every  fresh  venture  of  the  vessel,  or,  at  the  latest,  at 
the  end  of  a year,  and  in  accordance  with  the  following  provisions: 

1.  The  vessel  shall  be  visaed  at  the  departure  of  the  vessel  by  the 
authority  that  has  issued  it. 

2.  No  negro  can  be  engaged  as  a seaman  on  a vessel  without  having 
previously  been  questioned  by  the  authority  of  the  power  whose  colors  it 
carries,  or,  in  default  thereof,  by  the  territorial  authority,  with  a view  to 
ascertaining  the  fact  of  his  having  contracted  a free  engagement. 

[53] 


52 


3.  This  authority  shall  see  that  the  proportion  of  seamen  and  boys  is 
not  out  of  proportion  to  the  tonnage  or  rigging. 

4.  The  authority  who  shall  have  questioned  the  men  before  their 
departure  shall  enter  them  on  the  list  of  the  crew  in  which  they  shall  be 
mentioned  with  a summary  description  of  each  of  them  alongside  his  name. 

5.  In  order  the  more  effectively  to  prevent  any  substitution,  the  sea- 
men may,  moreover,  be  provided  with  a distinctive  mark. 

Article  XXXVI 

When  the  captain  of  a vessel  shall  desire  to  take  negro  passengers  on 
board,  he  shall  make  his  declaration  to  that  effect  to  the  authority  of 
the  power  whose  colors  he  carries,  or  in  default  thereof,  to  the  territorial 
authority.  The  passengers  shall  be  questioned,  and  after  it  has  been 
ascertained  that  they  embarked  of  their  own  free  will,  they  shall  be  entered 
in  a special  manifest,  bearing  the  description  of  each  of  them  alongside  of 
his  name,  and  specially  sex  and  height.  Negro  children  shall  not  be  taken 
as  passengers  unless  they  are  accompanied  by  their  relations,  or  by  persons 
whose  respectability  is  well  known.  At  the  departure,  the  passenger  roll 
shall  be  visaed  by  the  aforesaid  authority  after  it  has  been  called.  If 
there  are  no  passengers  on  board,  this  shall  be  specially  mentioned  in  the 
crew  list. 

Article  XXXVII 

At  the  arrival  at  any  port  of  call  or  of  destination,  the  captain  of  the 
vessel  shall  show  to  the  authority  of  the  power  whose  flag  he  carries,  or, 
in  default  thereof,  to  the  territorial  authority,  the  crew  list,  and,  if  need 
be,  the  passenger  roll  previously  delivered.  The  authority  shall  check 
the  passengers  who  have  reached  their  destination  or  who  are  stopping  in 
a port  of  call,  and  shall  mention  their  landing  in  the  roll.  At  the  departure 
of  the  vessel,  the  same  authority  shall  affix  a fresh  vise  to  the  list  and  roll, 
and  call  the  roll  of  the  passengers. 

Article  XXXVIII 

On  the  African  coast  and  on  the  adjacent  islands,  no  negro  passengers 
shall  be  taken  on  board  of  a native  vessel,  except  in  localities  where  there 
is  a resident  authority  belonging  to  one  of  the  signatory  powers. 

Throughout  the  extent  of  the  zone  mentioned  in  Article  XXI,  no  negro 
passenger  shall  be  landed  from  a native  vessel  except  at  a place  in  which 
there  is  a resident  officer  belonging  to  one  of  the  high  contracting  powers, 
and  unless  such  officer  is  present  at  the  landing. 

Cases  of  vis  major  that  may  have  caused  an  infraction  of  these  provisions 
shall  be  examined  by  the  authority  of  the  power  whose  colors  the  vessel 
carries,  or,  in  default  thereof,  by  the  territorial  authority  of  the  port  at 
which  the  vessel  in  question  calls. 

[54] 


53 


Article  XXXIX 

The  provisions  of  Articles  XXXV,  XXXVI,  XXXVII,  and  XXXVIII 
are  not  applicable  to  vessels  only  partially  decked,  having  a crew  not 
exceeding  ten  men,  and  fulfilling  one  of  the  two  following  conditions: 

1.  That  it  be  exclusively  used  for  fishing  within  the  territorial  waters. 

2.  That  it  be  occupied  in  the  petty  coasting  trade  between  the  different 
ports  of  the  same  territorial  power,  without  going  further  than  5 miles 
from  the  coast. 

These  different  boats  shall  receive,  as  the  case  may  be,  a special  license 
from  the  territorial  or  consular  authority,  which  shall  be  renewed  every 
year,  and  subject  to  revocation  as  provided  in  Article  XL,  the  uniform 
model  of  which  license  is  annexed  to  the  present  general  act  and  shall  be 
communicated  to  the  international  information  office. 

Article  XL 

Any  act  or  attempted  act  connected  with  the  slave  trade  that  can  be 
legally  shown  to  have  been  committed  by  the  captain,  fitter-out,  or  owner 
of  a ship  authorized  to  carry  the  flag  of  one  of  the  signatory  powers,  or 
having  procured  the  license  provided  for  in  Article  XXXIX,  shall  entail 
the  immediate  withdrawal  of  the  said  authorization  or  license.  All  vio- 
lations of  the  provisions  of  Section  2 of  Chapter  III  shall  render  the  person 
guilty  thereof  liable  to  the  penalties  provided  by  the  special  laws  and 
ordinances  of  each  of  the  contracting  parties. 

Article  XLI 

The  signatory  powers  engage  to  deposit  at  the  international  information 
office  the  specimen  forms  of  the  following  documents: 

X.  License  to  carry  the  flag; 

2.  The  crew  list; 

3.  The  negro  passenger  list. 

These  documents,  the  tenor  of  which  may  vary  according  to  the  different 
regulations  of  each  country,  shall  necessarily  contain  the  following  particu- 
lars, drawn  up  in  one  of  the  European  languages: 

1.  As  regards  the  authorization  to  carry  the  flag: 

(a)  The  name,  tonnage,  rig,  and  the  principal  dimensions  of  the  vessel; 

(b)  The  register  number  and  the  signal  letter  of  the  port  of  registry; 

(c)  The  date  of  obtaining  the  license,  and  the  office  held  by  the  person 
who  issued  it. 

2.  As  regards  the  list  of  the  crew: 

(a)  The  name  of  the  vessel,  of  the  captain  and  the  fitter-out  or  owner; 

(b)  The  tonnage  of  the  vessel; 


[ 55  ] 


54 


(c)  The  register  number  and  the  port  of  registry,  its  destination,  as  well 
as  the  particulars  specified  in  Article  XXV. 

3.  As  regards  the  list  of  negro  passengers: 

The  name  of  the  vessel  which  conveys  them,  and  the  particulars  indicated 
in  Article  XXXVI,  for  the  proper  identification  of  the  passengers. 

The  signatory  powers  shall  take  the  necessary  measures  so  that  the 
territorial  authorities  or  their  consuls  may  send  to  the  same  office  certified 
copies  of  all  authorizations  to  carry  their  flag  as  soon  as  such  authori- 
zations shall  have  been  granted,  as  well  as  notices  of  the  withdrawal  of 
any  such  authorization. 

The  provisions  of  the  present  article  have  reference  only  to  papers 
intended  for  native  vessels. 

2.  The  stopping  of  suspected  vessels. 

Article  XLII 

When  the  officers  in  command  of  war  vessels  of  any  of  the  signatory 
powers  have  reason  to  believe  that  a vessel  whose  tonnage  is  less  than  500 
tons,  and  which  is  found  navigating  in  the  above-named  zone,  is  engaged 
in  the  slave  trade  or  is  guilty  of  the  fraudulent  use  of  a flag,  they  may 
examine  the  ship’s  papers. 

The  present  article  does  not  imply  any  change  in  the  present  state  of 
things  as  regards  jurisdiction  in  territorial  waters. 

Article  XLIII 

To  this  end,  a boat  commanded  by  a naval  officer  in  uniform  may  be 
sent  to  board  the  suspected  vessel  after  it  has  been  hailed  and  informed  of 
this  intention. 

The  officers  sent  on  board  of  the  vessel  which  has  been  stopped  shall  act 
with  all  possible  consideration  and  moderation. 

Article  XLIV 

The  examination  of  the  ship’s  papers  shall  consist  of  the  examination  of 
the  following  documents: 

1.  As  regards  native  vessels,  the  papers  mentioned  in  Article  XLI. 

2.  As  regards  other  vessels,  the  documents  required  by  the  different 
treaties  or  conventions  that  are  in  force. 

The  examination  of  the  ship’s  papers  only  authorizes  the  calling  of  the 
roll  of  the  crew  and  passengers  in  the  cases  and  in  accordance  with  the 
conditions  provided  for  in  the  following  article. 

Article  XLV 

The  examination  of  the  cargo  or  the  search  can  only  take  place  in  the 
case  of  vessels  sailing  under  the  flag  of  one  of  the  powers  that  have  con- 

[56] 


55 


eluded,  or  may  hereafter  conclude  the  special  conventions  provided  for  in 
Article  XXII,  and  in  accordance  with  the  provisions  of  such  conventions. 

Article  XLVI 

Before  leaving  the  detained  vessel,  the  officer  shall  draw  up  a minute 
according  to  the  forms  and  in  the  language  in  use  in  the  country  to  which 
he  belongs. 

This  minute  shall  be  dated  and  signed  by  the  officer,  and  shall  recite 
the  facts. 

The  captain  of  the  detained  vessel,  as  well  as  the  witnesses,  shall  have 
the  right  to  cause  to  be  added  to  the  minutes  any  explanations  they  may 
think  expedient. 

Article  XLVI  I 

The  commander  of  a man-of-war  who  has  detained  a vessel  under  a 
foreign  flag  shall,  in  all  cases,  make  a report  thereof  to  his  own  government, 
and  state  the  grounds  upon  which  he  has  acted. 

Article  XLVI  1 1 

A summary  of  this  report,  as  well  as  a copy  of  the  minute  drawn  up  by 
the  officer  on  board  of  the  detained  vessel,  shall  be  sent,  as  soon  as  possible, 
to  the  international  information  office,  which  shall  communicate  the  same 
to  the  nearest  consular  or  territorial  authority  of  the  power  whose  flag  the 
vessel  in  question  has  shown.  Duplicates  of  these  documents  shall  be  kept 
in  the  archives  of  the  bureau. 


Article  XLIX 

If,  in  performing  the  acts  of  supervision  mentioned  in  the  preceding  ar- 
ticles, the  officer  in  command  of  the  cruiser  is  convinced  that  an  act  con- 
nected with  the  slave  trade  has  been  committed  on  board  during  the  pas- 
sage, or  that  irrefutable  proofs  exist  against  the  captain,  or  fitter-out,  for 
accusing  him  of  fraudulent  use  of  the  flag,  or  fraud,  or  participation  in  the 
slave  trade,  he  shall  conduct  the  arrested  vessel  to  the  nearest  port  of  the 
zone  where  there  is  a competent  magistrate  of  the  power  whose  flag  has 
been  used. 

Each  signatory  power  engages  to  appoint  in  the  zone,  and  to  make  known 
to  the  international  information  office,  the  territorial  or  consular  authorities 
or  special  delegates  who  are  competent  in  the  above-mentioned  cases. 

A suspected  vessel  may  also  be  turned  over  to  a cruiser  of  its  own  nation, 
if  the  latter  consents  to  take  charge  of  it. 

3.  Of  the  examination  and  trial  of  vessels  seized. 

[57] 


56 


Article  L 

The  magistrate  referred  to  in  the  preceding  article,  to  whom  the  arrested 
vessel  has  been  turned  over,  shall  proceed  to  make  a full  investigation, 
according  to  the  laws  and  rules  of  his  country,  in  the  presence  of  an  officer 
belonging  to  the  foreign  cruiser. 


Article  LI 

If  it  is  proved  by  the  inquiry  that  the  flag  has  been  fraudulently  used, 
the  arrested  vessel  shall  remain  at  the  disposal  of  its  captor. 

Article  LII 

If  the  examination  shows  an  act  connected  with  the  slave  trade,  proved 
by  the  presence  on  board  of  slaves  destined  for  sale,  or  any  other  offense 
connected  with  the  slave  trade  for  which  provision  is  made  by  special  con- 
vention, the  vessel  and  cargo  shall  remain  sequestrated  in  charge  of  the 
magistrate  who  shall  have  conducted  the  inquiry. 

The  captain  and  crew  shall  be  turned  over  to  the  tribunals  designated  by 
Articles  LIV  and  LVI.  The  slaves  shall  be  set  at  liberty  as  soon  as  judg- 
ment has  been  pronounced. 

In  the  cases  provided  for  by  this  article,  liberated  slaves  shall  be  dis- 
posed of  in  accordance  with  the  special  conventions  concluded,  or  to  be 
concluded,  between  the  signatory  powers.  In  default  of  such  conventions, 
the  said  slaves  shall  be  turned  over  to  the  local  authority,  to  be  sent  back, 
if  possible,  to  their  country  of  origin;  if  not,  this  authority  shall  facilitate 
to  them,  in  so  far  as  may  be  in  its  power,  the  means  of  livelihood,  and,  if 
they  desire  it,  of  settling  on  the  spot. 

Article  LI  1 1 

If  it  shall  be  proved  by  the  inquiry  that  the  vessel  has  been  illegally 
arrested,  there  shall  be  clear  title  to  an  indemnity  in  proportion  to  the 
damages  suffered  by  the  vessel  being  taken  out  of  its  course. 

The  amount  of  this  indemnity  shall  be  fixed  by  the  authority  that  has 
conducted  the  inquiry. 

Article  LIV 

In  case  the  officer  of  the  capturing  vessel  does  not  accept  the  conclusions 
of  the  inquiry  held  in  his  presence,  the  matter  shall  be  turned  over  to  the 
tribunal  of  the  nation  whose  flag  the  captured  vessel  has  borne. 

No  exception  shall  be  made  to  this  rule,  unless  the  disagreement  arises  in 
respect  of  the  amount  of  the  indemnity  stipulated  in  Article  LI  1 1,  and  this 
shall  be  fixed  by  arbitration,  as  specified  in  the  following  article. 

[58] 


57 


Article  LV 

The  capturing  officer  and  the  authority  which  has  conducted  the  inquiry 
shall  each  appoint  a referee  within  forty-eight  hours,  and  the  two  arbitra- 
tors shall  have  twenty-four  hours  to  choose  an  umpire.  The  arbitrators 
shall,  as  far  as  possible,  be  chosen  from  among  the  diplomatic,  consular, 
or  judicial  officers  of  the  signatory  powers.  Natives  in  the  pay  of  the  con- 
tracting Governments  are  formally  excluded.  The  decision  shall  be  by  a 
majority  of  votes,  and  be  considered  as  final. 

If  the  court  of  arbitration  is  not  constituted  in  the  time  indicated,  the 
procedure  in  respect  of  the  indemnity,  as  in  that  of  damages,  shall  be  in 
accordance  with  the  provisions  of  Article  LVIII,  paragraph  2. 

Article  LVI 

The  cases  shall  be  brought  with  the  least  possible  delay  before  the  tribunal 
of  the  nation  whose  flag  has  been  used  by  the  accused.  However,  the  con- 
suls or  any  other  authority  of  the  same  nation  as  the  accused,  specially 
commissioned  to  this  end,  may  be  authorized  by  their  Government  to 
pronounce  judgment  instead  of  the  tribunal. 

Article  LVI  I 

The  procedure  and  trial  of  violations  of  the  provisions  of  Chapter  III 
shall  always  be  conducted  in  as  summary  a manner  as  is  permitted  by  the 
laws  and  regulations  in  force  in  the  territories  subject  to  the  authority  of 
the  signatory  powers. 

Article  LVIII 

Any  decision  of  the  national  tribunal  or  authorities  referred  to  in  Article 
LVI,  declaring  that  the  seized  vessel  did  not  carry  on  the  slave  trade,  shall 
be  immediately  enforced,  and  the  vessel  shall  be  at  perfect  liberty  to  con- 
tinue on  its  course. 

In  this  case,  the  captain  or  owner  of  any  vessel  that  has  been  seized  with- 
out legitimate  ground  of  suspicion,  or  subjected  to  annoyance,  shall  have 
the  right  of  claiming  damages,  the  amount  of  which  shall  be  fixed  by  agree- 
ment between  the  Governments  directly  interested,  or  by  arbitration,  and 
shall  be  paid  within  a period  of  six  months  from  the  date  of  the  judgment 
acquitting  the  captured  vessel. 

Article  LIX 

In  case  of  condemnation,  the  sequestered  vessel  shall  be  declared  lawfully 
seized  for  the  benefit  of  the  captor. 

The  captain,  crew,  and  all  other  persons  found  guilty  shall  be  punished 
according  to  the  gravity  of  the  crimes  or  offenses  committed  by  them,  and 
in  accordance  with  Article  V. 


[59] 


58 


Article  LX 

The  provisions  of  Articles  L to  LIX  do  not  in  any  way  affect  the  juris- 
diction or  procedure  of  existing  special  tribunals,  or  of  such  as  may  here- 
after be  formed  to  take  cognizance  of  offenses  connected  with  the  slave 
trade. 

Article  LXI 

The  high  contracting  parties  engage  to  make  known  to  one  another, 
reciprocally,  the  instructions  which  they  shall  give,  for  the  execution  of 
the  provisions  of  Chapter  III,  to  the  commanders  of  their  men-of-war 
navigating  the  seas  of  the  zone  referred  to. 

Chapter  IV.  Countries  to  Which  Slaves  Are  Sent,  Whose  Institu- 
tions Recognize  the  Existence  of  Domestic  Slavery 

Article  LX  1 1 

The  contracting  powers  whose  institutions  recognize  the  existence  of 
domestic  slavery,  and  whose  possessions,  in  consequence  thereof,  in  or  out 
of  Africa,  serve,  in  spite  of  the  vigilance  of  the  authorities,  as  places  of 
destination  for  African  slaves,  pledge  themselves  to  prohibit  their  im- 
portation, transit,  and  departure,  as  well  as  the  trade  in  slaves.  The  most 
active  and  the  strictest  supervision  shall  be  enforced  at  all  places  where 
the  arrival,  transit,  and  departure  of  African  slaves  take  place. 

Article  LXI  1 1 

Slaves  set  free  under  the  provisions  of  the  preceding  article  shall,  if 
circumstances  permit,  be  sent  back  to  the  country  from  whence  they  came. 
In  all  cases  they  shall  receive  letters  of  liberation  from  the  competent 
authorities,  and  shall  be  entitled  to  their  protection  and  assistance  for  the 
purpose  of  obtaining  means  of  subsistence. 

Article  LXIV 

Any  fugitive  slave  arriving  at  the  frontier  of  any  of  the  powers  men- 
tioned in  Article  LXI  I shall  be  considered  free,  and  shall  have  the  right 
to  claim  letters  of  release  from  the  competent  authorities. 

Article  LXV 

Any  sale  or  transaction  to  which  the  slaves  referred  to  in  Articles 
LXIII  and  LXIV  may  have  been  subjected  through  circumstances  of 
any  kind  whatsoever,  shall  be  considered  as  null  and  void. 

[6o] 


59 


Article  LXVI 

Native  vessels  carrying  the  flag  of  one  of  the  countries  mentioned  in 
Article  LXII,  if  there  is  any  indication  that  they  are  employed  in  opera- 
tions connected  with  the  slave  trade,  shall  be  subjected  by  the  local 
authorities  in  the  ports  frequented  by  them  to  a strict  examination  of 
their  crews  and  passengers  both  on  arrival  and  departure.  If  African 
slaves  are  found  on  board,  judicial  proceedings  shall  be  instituted  against 
the  vessel  and  against  all  persons  who  may  be  implicated.  Slaves  found 
on  board  shall  receive  letters  of  release  through  the  authorities  who  have 
seized  the  vessels. 

Article  LXVI  I 

Penal  provisions  similar  to  those  provided  for  by  Article  V shall  be 
enacted  against  persons  importing,  transporting,  and  trading  in  African 
slaves,  against  the  mutilators  of  male  children  or  adults,  and  those  who 
traffic  in  them,  as  well  as  against  their  associates  and  accomplices. 

Article  LXVI  1 1 

The  signatory  powers  recognize  the  great  importance  of  the  law  respect- 
ing the  prohibition  of  the  slave  trade  sanctioned  by  His  Majesty  the  Em- 
peror of  the  Ottomans  on  the  4th  (16th)  of  December,  1889  (22  Rebi-ul- 
Akhir,  1307),  and  they  are  assured  that  an  active  surveillance  will  be 
organized  by  the  Ottoman  authorities,  especially  on  the  west  coast  of 
Arabia  and  on  the  routes  which  place  that  coast  in  communication  with 
the  other  possessions  of  His  Imperial  Majesty  in  Asia. 

Article  LXIX 

His  Majesty  the  Shah  of  Persia  consents  to  organize  an  active  surveil- 
lance in  the  territorial  waters  and  those  off  the  coast  of  the  Persian  Gulf 
and  Gulf  of  Oman  which  are  under  his  sovereignty,  and  on  the  inland  routes 
which  serve  for  the  transportation  of  slaves.  The  magistrates  and  other 
authorities  shall,  to  this  effect,  receive  the  necessary  powers. 

Article  LXX 

His  Highness  the  Sultan  of  Zanzibar  consents  to  give  his  most  effective 
support  to  the  repression  of  crimes  and  offenses  committed  by  African 
slave  traders  on  land  as  well  as  at  sea.  The  tribunals  created  for  this 
purpose  in  the  Sultanate  of  Zanzibar  shall  rigorously  enforce  the  penal 
provisions  mentioned  in  Article  V.  In  order  to  render  more  secure  the 
freedom  of  liberated  slaves,  both  in  virtue  of  the  provisions  of  the  present 
general  act  and  of  the  decrees  adopted  in  this  matter  by  His  Highness 
and  his  predecessors,  a liberation  office  shall  be  established  at  Zanzibar. 

C 61  ] 


6o 


Article  LXXI 

The  diplomatic  and  consular  agents  and  the  naval  officers  of  the  con- 
tracting powers  shall,  within  the  limits  of  existing  conventions,  give  their 
assistance  to  the  local  authorities  in  order  to  assist  in  repressing  the  slave 
trade  where  it  still  exists.  They  shall  be  entitled  to  be  present  at  trials 
for  slave  trading  brought  about  at  their  instance,  without,  however,  being 
entitled,  to  take  part  in  the  deliberations. 

Article  LXXI  I 

Liberation  offices,  or  institutions  in  lieu  thereof,  shall  be  organized  by 
the  governments  of  the  countries  to  which  African  slaves  are  sent,  for  the 
purposes  specified  by  Article  XVIII. 

Article  LXXI  1 1 

The  signatory  powers  having  undertaken  to  communicate  to  one  another 
all  information  useful  for  the  repression  of  the  slave  trade  the  Governments 
whom  the  present  chapter  concerns  shall  periodically  exchange  with  the 
other  Governments  statistical  data  relating  to  slaves  intercepted  and 
liberated,  and  to  the  legislative  and  administrative  measures  which  have 
been  taken  for  suppressing  the  slave  trade. 

Chapter  V.  Institutions  Intended  to  Insure  the  Execution 
of  the  General  Act 

SECTION  I.  OF  THE  INTERNATIONAL  MARITIME  OFFICE 

Article  LXXIV 

In  accordance  with  the  provisions  of  Article  XXVII,  an  international 
office  shall  be  instituted  at  Zanzibar,  in  which  each  of  the  signatory  powers 
may  be  represented  by  a delegate. 

Article  LXXV 

The  office  shall  be  constituted  as  soon  as  three  powers  have  appointed 
their  representatives. 

It  shall  draw  up  regulations  fixing  the  manner  of  exercising  its  functions. 
These  regulations  shall  immediately  be  submitted  to  the  approval  of  such 
signatory  powers  as  shall  have  signified  their  intention  of  being  represented 
in  this  office.  They  shall  decide  in  this  respect  within  the  shortest  possible 
time. 

Article  LXXVI 

The  expenses  of  this  institution  shall  be  divided  in  equal  parts  among 
the  signatory  powers  mentioned  in  the  preceding  article. 

[62] 


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Article  LXXYII 

The  object  of  the  office  at  Zanzibar  shall  be  to  centralize  all  documents 
and  information  of  a nature  to  facilitate  the  repression  of  the  slave  trade 
in  the  maritime  zone.  For  this  purpose  the  signatory  powers  engage  to 
forward  within  the  shortest  time  possible: 

1.  The  documents  specified  in  Article  XLI; 

2.  Summaries  of  the  reports  and  copies  of  the  minutes  referred  to  in 
Article  XLYIII; 

3.  The  list  of  the  territorial  or  consular  authorities  and  special  delegates 
competent  to  take  action  as  regards  vessels  seized  according  to  the  terms  of 
Article  XL  IX. 

4.  Copies  of  judgments  and  condemnations  in  accordance  with  Article 

LYIII. 

5.  All  information  that  may  lead  to  the  discovery  of  persons  engaged  in 
the  slave  trade  in  the  above-mentioned  zone. 

Article  LXXYIII 

The  archives  of  the  office  shall  always  be  open  to  the  naval  officers  of  the 
signatory  powers  authorized  to  act  within  the  limits  of  the  zone  defined  by 
Article  XXI,  as  well  as  to  the  territorial  or  judicial  authorities,  and  to 
consuls  specially  designated  by  their  Governments. 

The  office  shall  supply  to  foreign  officers  and  agents  authorized  to  con- 
sult its  archives,  translations  into  a European  language  of  documents 
written  in  an  oriental  language. 

It  shall  make  the  communications  provided  for  in  Article  XLYIII. 

Article  LXXIX 

Auxiliary  offices  in  communication  writh  the  office  at  Zanzibar  may  be 
established  in  certain  parts  of  the  zone,  in  pursuance  of  a previous  agreement 
between  the  interested  powers. 

They  shall  be  composed  of  delegates  of  these  powers,  and  established 
in  accordance  with  Articles  LXXY,  LXXYI,  and  LXXYIII. 

The  documents  and  information  specified  in  Article  LXXYII,  so  far 
as  they  may  relate  to  a part  of  the  zone  specially  concerned,  shall  be  sent 
to  them  directly  by  the  territorial  and  consular  authorities  of  the  region  in 
question,  but  this  shall  not  exempt  the  latter  from  the  duty  of  communi- 
cating the  same  to  the  office  at  Zanzibar,  as  provided  by  the  same  article. 

Article  LXXX 

The  office  at  Zanzibar  shall  prepare  in  the  first  two  months  of  every 
year,  a report  of  its  own  operations  and  of  those  of  the  auxiliary  offices, 
during  the  past  twelve  months. 


C63] 


62 


SECTION  II.  OF  THE  EXCHANGE  BETWEEN  THE  GOVERNMENTS  OF  DOCUMENTS 
AND  INFORMATION  RELATING  TO  THE  SLAVE  TRADE 

Article  LXXXI 

The  powers  shall  communicate  to  one  another,  to  the  fullest  extent  and 
with  the  least  delay  that  they  shall  consider  possible: 

1 . The  text  of  the  laws  and  administrative  regulations,  existing  or  enacted 
by  application  of  the  clauses  of  the  present  general  act; 

2.  Statistical  information  concerning  the  slave  trade,  slaves  arrested 
and  liberated,  and  the  traffic  in  firearms,  ammunition,  and  alcoholic 
liquors. 

Article  LXXXI  I 

The  exchange  of  these  documents  and  information  shall  be  centralized 
in  a special  office  attached  to  the  foreign  office  at  Brussels. 

Article  LXXXIII 

The  office  at  Zanzibar  shall  forward  to  it  every  year  the  report  mentioned 
in  Article  LXXX,  concerning  its  operations  during  the  past  year,  and 
concerning  those  of  the  auxiliary  offices  that  may  have  been  established 
in  accordance  with  Article  LXXIX. 

Article  LXXXIV 

The  documents  and  information  shall  be  collected  and  published  period- 
ically, and  addressed  to  all  the  signatory  powers.  This  publication  shall 
be  accompanied  every  year  by  an  analytical  table  of  the  legislative,  ad- 
ministrative, and  statistical  documents  mentioned  in  Articles  LXXXI  and 
LXXXIII. 

Article  LXXXV 

The  office  expenses  as  well  as  those  incurred  in  correspondence,  transla- 
tion, and  printing,  shall  be  shared  by  all  the  signatory  powers,  and  shall 
be  collected  through  the  agency  of  the  department  of  the  foreign  office  at 
Brussels. 


SECTION  III.  OF  THE  PROTECTION  OF  LIBERATED  SLAVES 

Article  LXXXVI 

The  signatory  powers  having  recognized  the  duty  of  protecting  liberated 
slaves  in  their  respective  possessions,  engage  to  establish,  if  they  do  not 
already  exist,  in  the  ports  of  the  zone  determined  by  Article  XXI,  and  in 
such  parts  of  their  said  possessions  as  may  be  places  for  the  capture,  pass- 

[64] 


63 


age,  and  arrival  of  African  slaves,  such  offices  and  institutions  as  may  be 
deemed  sufficient  by  them,  whose  business  shall  specially  consist  in  liber- 
ating and  protecting  them  in  accordance  with  the  provisions  of  Articles 
VI,  XVIII,  LII,  LXIII,  and  LXVI. 

Article  LXXXVII 

The  liberation  offices  or  the  authorities  charged  with  this  service  shall 
deliver  letters  of  release  and  shall  keep  a register  thereof. 

In  case  of  the  denunciation  of  an  act  connected  with  the  slave  trade,  or 
one  of  illegal  detention,  or  on  application  of  the  slaves  themselves,  the 
said  offices  or  authorities  shall  exercise  all  necessary  diligence  to  insure 
the  release  of  the  slaves  and  the  punishment  of  the  offenders. 

The  delivery  of  letters  of  release  shall  in  no  case  be  delayed,  if  the  slave 
be  accused  of  a crime  or  offense  against  the  common  law.  But  after  the 
delivery  of  the  said  letters  an  investigation  shall  be  proceeded  with  in  the 
form  established  by  the  ordinary  procedure. 

Article  LXXXVII  I 

The  signatory  powers  shall  favor,  in  their  possessions,  the  foundation  of 
establishments  of  refuge  for  women  and  of  education  for  liberated  children. 

Article  LXXXIX 

Freed  slaves  may  always  apply  to  the  offices  for  protection  in  the  enjoy- 
ment of  their  freedom. 

Whoever  shall  have  used  fraudulent  or  violent  means  to  deprive  a freed 
slave  of  his  letters  of  release  or  of  his  liberty,  shall  be  considered  as  a slave- 
dealer. 


Chapter  VI.  Measures  to  Restrict  the  Traffic  in 
Spirituous  Liquors 

Article  XC 

Being  justly  anxious  concerning  the  moral  and  material  consequences  to 
which  the  abuse  of  spirituous  liquors  subjects  the  native  population,  the 
signatory  powers  have  agreed  to  enforce  the  provisions  of  Articles  XCI, 
XCII,  and  XCIII  within  a zone  extending  from  the  20th  degree  of  North 
latitude  to  the  22d  degree  of  South  latitude,  and  bounded  on  the  west  by 
the  Atlantic  Ocean  and  on  the  east  by  the  Indian  Ocean  and  its  dependen- 
cies, including  the  islands  adjacent  to  the  mainland  within  100  nautical 
miles  from  the  coast. 


[65] 


64 


Article  XCI 

In  the  districts  of  this  zone  where  it  shall  be  ascertained  that,  either  on 
account  of  religious  belief  or  from  some  other  causes,  the  use  of  distilled 
liquors  does  not  exist  or  has  not  been  developed,  the  powers  shall  prohibit 
their  importation.  The  manufacture  of  distilled  liquors  shall  be  likewise 
prohibited  there. 

Each  power  shall  determine  the  limits  of  the  zone  of  prohibition  of  al- 
coholic liquors  in  its  possessions  or  protectorates,  and  shall  be  bound  to 
make  known  the  limits  thereof  to  the  other  powers  within  the  space  of 
six  months. 

The  above  prohibition  can  only  be  suspended  in  the  case  of  limited  quan- 
tities intended  for  the  consumption  of  the  non-native  population  and 
imported  under  the  regime  and  conditions  determined  by  each  Government. 

Article  XCI  I 

The  powers  having  possessions  or  exercising  protectorates  in  those 
regions  of  the  zone  which  are  not  subjected  to  the  regime  of  the  prohibi- 
tion, and  into  which  alcoholic  liquors  are  at  present  either  freely  imported 
or  pay  an  import  duty  of  less  than  15  francs  per  hectolitre  at  50  degrees 
centigrade,  engage  to  levy  on  such  alcoholic  liquors  an  import  duty  of 
15  francs  per  hectolitre  at  50  degrees  centigrade,  for  three  years  after  the 
present  general  act  comes  into  force.  At  the  expiration  of  this  period  the 
duty  may  be  increased  to  25  francs  during  a fresh  period  of  three  years. 
At  the  end  of  the  sixth  year  it  shall  be  submitted  to  revision,  the  average 
results  produced  by  these  tariffs  being  taken  as  a basis,  for  the  purpose  of 
then  fixing,  if  possible,  a minimum  duty  throughout  the  whole  extent  of 
the  zone  where  the  prohibition  referred  to  in  Article  XCI  is  not  in  force. 

The  powers  retain  the  right  of  maintaining  and  increasing  the  duties 
beyond  the  minimum  fixed  by  the  present  article  in  the  regions  where 
they  already  possess  that  right. 

Article  XCI  1 1 

Distilled  liquors  manufactured  in  the  regions  referred  to  in  Articles 
XCII,  and  intended  for  inland  consumption,  shall  be  subject  to  an  excise 
duty. 

This  excise  duty,  the  collection  of  which  the  powers  engage  to  secure, 
as  far  as  possible,  shall  not  be  less  than  the  minimum  import  duty  fixed 
by  Article  XCII. 

Article  XCIV 

The  signatory  powers  having  possessions  in  Africa  contiguous  to  the 
zone  specified  in  Article  XC  engage  to  adopt  the  necessary  measures  for 

[66] 


65 

preventing  the  introduction  of  spirituous  liquors  within  the  territories 
of  the  said  zone  via  their  inland  frontiers. 

Article  XCV 

The  powers  shall  communicate  to  one  another,  through  the  office  at 
Brussels,  and  according  to  the  terms  of  Chapter  V,  information  relating  to 
the  traffic  in  alcoholic  liquors  within  their  respective  territories. 

Chapter  VII.  Final  Provisions 

Article  XCVI 

The  present  general  act  repeals  all  contrary  stipulations  of  conventions 
previously  concluded  between  the  signatory  powers. 

Article  XCVII 

The  signatory  powers,  without  prejudice  to  the  stipulations  contained 
in  Articles  XIV,  XXIII,  and  XCII,  reserve  the  right  of  introducing  into 
the  present  general  act,  hereafter  and  by  common  consent,  such  modifica- 
tions or  improvements  as  experience  may  prove  to  be  useful. 

Article  XCVII  I 

Powers  who  have  not  signed  the  present  general  act  shall  be  allowed  to 
adhere  to  it. 

The  signatory  powers  reserve  the  right  to  impose  such  conditions  as 
they  may  deem  necessary  to  their  adhesion. 

If  no  conditions  shall  be  stipulated,  adhesion  implies  acceptance  of  all 
the  obligations  and  admission  to  all  the  advantages  stipulated  by  the 
present  general  act. 

The  powers  shall  agree  among  themselves  as  to  the  steps  to  be  taken  to 
secure  the  adhesion  of  states  whose  cooperation  may  be  necessary  or 
useful  in  order  to  insure  complete  execution  of  the  general  act. 

Adhesion  shall  be  effected  by  a separate  act.  Notice  thereof  shall  be 
given  through  the  diplomatic  channel  to  the  Government  of  the  King  of 
the  Belgians,  and  by  that  Government  to  all  the  signatory  and  adherent 
states. 

Article  XCIX 

The  present  general  act  shall  be  ratified  within  the  shortest  possible 
period,  which  shall  not  in  any  case  exceed  one  year. 

Each  power  shall  address  its  ratification  to  the  Government  of  the  King 
of  the  Belgians,  which  shall  give  notice  thereof  to  all  the  other  powers 
that  have  signed  the  present  general  act. 

[67] 


66 


The  ratifications  of  all  the  powers  shall  remain  deposited  in  the  archives 
of  the  Kingdom  of  Belgium. 

As  soon  as  all  the  ratifications  shall  have  been  furnished,  or  at  the  latest 
one  year  after  the  signature  of  the  present  general  act,  their  delivery 
shall  be  recorded  in  a protocol  which  shall  be  signed  by  the  representatives 
of  all  the  powers  that  have  ratified. 

A certified  copy  of  this  protocol  shall  be  forwarded  to  all  the  powers 
interested. 

Article  C 

The  present  general  act  shall  come  into  force  in  all  the  possessions  of  the 
contracting  powers  on  the  sixtieth  day,  reckoned  from  the  day  on  which 
the  protocol  provided  for  in  the  preceding  article  shall  have  been  drawn  up. 

In  Witness  Whereof  the  respective  plenipotentiaries  have  signed  the 
present  general  act,  and  have  thereto  affixed  their  seals. 

Done  at  Brussels  the  2nd  day  of  the  month  of  July,  1890. 

[seal]  Edwin  H.  Terrell. 

[seal]  H.  S.  Sanford. 

[seal]  Alvensleben. 

[seal]  Goehring. 

[seal]  R.  Khevenhuller. 

[seal]  Lambermont. 

[seal]  E.  Banning. 

[seal]  Schack  de  Brockdorff. 

[seal]  J.  G.  de  Aguera. 

[seal]  Edm.  van  Eetvelde. 

[seal]  A.  van  Maldeghem. 

[seal]  A.  Bouree. 

[seal]  G.  Cogordan. 

[seal]  Vivian. 

[seal]  John  Kirk. 

[seal]  F.  de  Renzis. 

Iseal]  T.  Catalani. 

[seal]  L.  Gericke. 

[seal]  Nazare  Aga. 

[seal]  Henrique  de  Macedo  Pereira  Coutinho. 

[seal]  L.  Ouroussoff. 

[seal]  Martens. 

[seal]  Burenstam. 

[seal]  Et  Carath£odory. 

[seal]  John  Kirk. 

[seal]  Goehring. 


[ b*  ] 


67 


Senate  Resolution  of  Ratification 

In  Executive  Session,  Senate  of  the  United  States, 

January  n,  1892. 

Resolved  (two  thirds  of  the  Senators  present  concurring  therein),  That  the 
Senate  advise  and  consent  to  the  ratification  of  the  General  Act  signed  at 
Brussels,  July  2,  1890,  by  the  plenipotentiaries  of  the  United  States  and 
other  powers,  for  the  suppression  of  the  African  slave  trade,  and  for  other 
purposes. 

Resolved  further,  That  the  Senate  advise  and  consent  to  the  acceptance 
of  the  partial  ratification  of  the  said  General  Act  on  the  part  of  the  French 
Republic,  and  to  the  stipulations  relative  thereto,  as  set  forth  in  the 
protocol  signed  at  Brussels,  January  2,  1892. 

Resolved  further,  as  a part  of  this  act  of  ratification,  That  the  United  States 
of  America,  having  neither  possessions  nor  protectorates  in  Africa,  hereby 
disclaims  any  intention,  in  ratifying  this  treaty,  to  indicate  any  interest 
whatsoever  in  the  possessions  or  protectorates  established  or  claimed  on 
that  Continent  by  the  other  powers,  or  any  approval  of  the  wisdom, 
expediency,  or  lawfullness  thereof,  and  does  not  join  in  any  expressions 
in  the  said  General  Act  which  might  be  construed  as  such  a declaration 
or  acknowledgment;  and,  for  this  reason,  that  it  is  desirable  that  a copy 
of  this  resolution  be  inserted  in  the  protocol  to  be  drawn  up  at  the  time 
of  the  exchange  of  the  ratifications  of  this  treaty  on  the  part  of  the  United 
States. 

Attest:  Anson  G.  McCook, 

Secretary. 

By  Chas.  W.  Johnson, 

Chief  Clerk. 


[69] 


LIST  OF  PUBLICATIONS 

International  Conciliation  appeared  under  the  imprint  of  the  American 
Association  for  International  Conciliation,  No.  I,  April,  1907  to  No.  199,  June, 
1924-  These  documents  present  the  views  of  distinguished  leaders  of  opinion 
of  many  countries  on  vital  international  problems  and  reproduce  the  texts 
of  official  treaties,  diplomatic  correspondence  and  draft  plans  for  interna- 
tional projects  such  as  the  Permanent  Court  of  International  Justice.  The 
most  recent  publications  are  listed  below.  A complete  list  will  be  sent  upon 
application  to  International  Conciliation,  40s  West  117th  Street.  New  York 
City. 

220.  Disarmament  and  American  Foreign  Policy.  Articles  by  James  T. 

Shotwell,  Tasker  H.  Bliss,  David  Hunter  Miller  and  Joseph  P.  Cham- 
berlain. 

May,  1926. 

221.  Treaty-Making  Power  under  the  Constitution  of  Japan,  by  Tsunejiro 

Miyaoka,  of  the  Bar  of  Japan. 

June,  1926. 

222.  The  Problem  of  Minorities.  Articles  by  Louis  Eisenmann,  William  E. 

Rappard,  H.  Wilson  Harris  and  Raymond  Leslie  Buell. 

September,  1926. 

223.  The  Political  Doctrine  of  Fascism,  by  Alfredo  Rocco,  Minister  of  Justice 

in  the  Government  of  Italy.  Recent  Legislation  in  Italy. 

October,  1926. 

224.  An  Alternative  Use  of  Force:  When  the  Earth  Trembled,  by  Richard 

J.  Walsh;  The  Moral  Equivalent  of  War,  by  William  James. 
November,  1926. 

225.  Observations  in  Egypt,  Palestine,  and  Greece.  A Report,  by  Henry  S. 

Pritchett,  Trustee  of  the  Carnegie  Endowment  for  International  Peace. 
December,  1926. 

226.  Raw  Materials  and  Their  Effect  upon  International  Relations.  Articles 

by  George  Otis  Smith,  L.  L.  Summers,  E.  Dana  Durand,  Parker  T. 
Moon,  and  Edward  Mead  Earle. 

January,  1927. 

227.  Chinese  Politics  and  Foreign  Powers,  by  Harold  S.  Quigley.  Syllabus  on 

Recent  Chinese  Politics  and  Diplomacy. 

February,  1927. 

228.  The  British  Commonwealth  of  Nations:  Report  of  Inter-Imperial  Rela- 

tions Committee;  Address  by  The  Rt.  Hon.  Stanley  Melbourne  Bruce, 
Prime  Minister  of  Australia. 

March.  1927. 

229.  Locarno  and  the  Balkans:  A Turning  Point  in  History,  by  James  T. 

Shotwell;  The  Possibility  of  a Balkan  Locarno,  by  David  Mitrany, 
April,  1927. 

230.  The  Interallied  Debts.  Statements  as  to  the  Desirability  of  an  Early 

Revision  of  Existing  Arrangements. 

May.  1927. 

231.  The  League  of  Nations:  The  League  of  Nations  as  an  Historical  Fact, 

by  William  E.  Rappard;  The  Admission  of  Germany  to  the  League  of 
Nations  and  Its  Probable  Significance,  by  Caleb  Perry  Patterson. 
June,  1927. 

232.  The  Permanent  Court  of  International  Justice:  The  United  States  and 

the  Permanent  Court  of  International  Justice,  by  Quincy  Wright; 
Sidelights  on  the  Permanent  Court  of  International  Justice,  by  Ake 
Hammarskjold. 

September,  1927. 

233-tThe  Genesis  of  the  Universal  Postal  Union.  A Study  in  the  Beginnings 
of  International  Organization,  by  John  F.  Sly. 

October,  1927. 

234.  Italy’s  Financial  Policy,  as  outlined  by  Count  Giuseppe  Volpi  of  Misurata, 

Minister  of  Finance  in  the  Government  of  Italy.  Text  of  the  Italian 
Labor  Charter. 

November,  1927. 

2 35.  Australian  Immigration  Policy,  by  A.  H.  Charteris,  Challis  Professor  of 

International  Law,  University  of  Sydney,  New  South  Wales. 
December,  1927- 

236.  The  Slavery  Convention  of  Geneva,  September  25.  1926.  by  A.  L. 

Warnshuis,  Joseph  P.  Chamberlain,  and  Quincy  Wright.  Text  of  the 
General  Act  for  the  Repression  of  African  Slave  Trade,  July  2,  1890. 
January,  1928. 


